Die to Love You
by TabbyKat
Summary: Ryoma could inherit an old family house if he and his teammates can survive it's history. At the same time he's has feelings for two people at the same time, if it's not ghosts it's love. warnings Yaoi Lemon (not a very good one).
1. Inheritance

Kobayashi Nami stepped inside the old house with several contractors and looked around the refinished entrance hall. She turned to explain what she wanted done today before the carpenters, plumbers, and electricians went to work. She wanted this place kept as original as possible despite the modern updates that had been and were being done to it. Before she moved to leave though her cell phone went off and she didn't dare step away from the spot she was on for fear of losing the signal. This property was notoriously bad for having very poor cell phone signals but Nami was not a superstitious person. She answered the phone to find one of her bosses on the other end.

"Ah Kumamoto-san. Yes everything should be ready for whenever Echizen Ryoma is ready to inherit the property… No sir, we haven't been able to get that one room open yet but I have the carpenters working on that first and a locksmith company will be arriving this afternoon if they haven't gotten it open by then… Yes sir… I'm picking him up on Saturday after his team practice… but sir… why would you send… no sir. Yes sir I understand. He'll be at Seigaku high school…"

The spirit of a 16 year old boy stopped listening at that point and began to gather energy. After all he would have to go to this school and stop Echizen Ryoma from ever setting foot in this house.

"Ochibi-chan!"

It took a moment for Ryoma to register the voice and the arms which were now wrapped around his neck, even though they'd done this hundreds of times over the last four years.

"Kikumaru-sempai, hanase." The kouhai demanded, the arms simply tightened.

"Ochibi! Are you coming with us for burgers today? Everybody is coming, even Tezuka!"

"There is a 78 chance that there will be a discussion on where to spend the next team recreation day and a 67 chance that Tezuka will assign laps around the restaurant within half and hour." Inui said as he came up to the two of them.

"So are you coming! Sempai's treat."

"Iada."

The two high school seniors stared at him for a minute in stunned silence before Eiji began to whine while Inui whipped out his note book.

"Why not? Why won't you come with us nya!" the red head yelled as he tightened his arms even more on the younger boy's neck.

"Sempai… Hanase… Can't… breath." Ryoma managed to cough out as he thumped on his teammates arms.

"Nya?"

"Eiji! You need to let go. You're choking him."

"But… Oishi he said he won't come with us today and he won't tell me why!"

"Eiji he needs to breathe if you want him to tell us why." The hyperactive boy's doubles partner said soothingly.

The red head finally let go and apologized as Ryoma fell to his knees gasping for air. Inui was mumbling to himself by this point, unaware of the young boy's glare.

"Echizen turned an interesting shade of purple blue. This color might be obtained by adding Aozu to Penal Tea…"

"Ochibi spill. Why won't you come with us today?"

"Yeah Echizen you never pass up free food." Momoshiro said with a shocked look on his face as he and the others gathered in time to hear the tail end of the argument.

"Actually Momo-sempai it's you that doesn't pass up food, free or otherwise." Ryoma replied once he had recovered his breath.

"Fsssh." Kaidoh hissed with a smirk.

"Echizen what reason do you have exactly for not coming?" Inui asked as he swapped notebooks.

"I have an appointment. They're picking me up here in a few minutes."

"Who is?" Momo blurted out.

"Someone from my Mom's law firm."

"Law firm? What did you do, Echizen, hit someone important with a tennis ball?"

"Baka Momo-sempai. I'm inheriting something from a dead relative."

"Ooh, Echizen's gunna be rich! Maybe he should be paying for the burgers!"

"Fssh. Baka. Just because he's inheriting something doesn't mean its money." Kaidoh said glaring at the bottomless pit powerhouse.

"Don't start you two! Echizen did you know your relative well? I'm sorry for your loss." Oishi said with a sad expression.

"I didn't know him at all. He died about 150 years ago."

"150 years? Then how could he specify you?" Momo asked in confusion.

The sixteen year old prodigy shrugged. He'd grown rather close to these boys over the years and was more comfortable around them than anyone else, except his cat of course, but there were still times when it was a challenge to get his to say more than a few short sentences at one time.

"I don't know. They'll explain that when I get there I guess."

"Are you going alone? Your parents are back in America right now aren't they?" Fuji asked in slight concern.

"I sent a copy of everything to my mom and she said it was fine. She's having one of her coworkers sit in to make sure nothing changes." He said leaning against a wall.

Fuji's face showed a bit more concern at the answer the younger boy had given. He'd hoped Ryoma's parents would fly back for something like this, but apparently not. He shot a silent look at Tezuka who seemed to contemplate something for a moment before nodding. Fuji relaxed a little at that.

"If we are permitted we will go with you Echizen." Tezuka finally said out loud surprising everyone but Fuji.

"Nya! That's right. Ochibi shouldn't be alone." Eiji, the first to recover, said as he glomped the younger boy carefully this time.

The others took a few moments but each agreed to give up going for burgers to accompany their youngest teammate. Ryoma looked at his friends before shrugging and mumbling,"Betsuni,"which was as close as he would come to saying that he wanted them with him, unless he was extremely nervous which hadn't happened yet.

A few minutes later a limousine pulled up in front of the school and once it had stopped a woman stepped out of the back. She was an intimidating image of professionalism in her charcoal grey business suit. She scowled at the boys in front of her before stalking towards them. Once in front of them she gave them all a once over before turning to Tezuka. His posture, unlike his unreadable face, had become one of both confidence and defensive. She glowered as she stared into his eyes.

"I'm looking for Echizen Ryoma." She finally said in an impatient tone.

"And you are?" the tennis captain replied giving no indication that the boy was about three feet away.

The others had arranged themselves in a seemingly casual way that was actually effective in blocking Ryoma from her immediate sight. Fuji however stood near Tezuka, several feet in front of Ryoma, with his piercing blue eyes open in fierce mistrust.

"Tokushima Takako. I'm from Tottori and Kumamoto, the law office." She said with a sneer.

"Show us proof." Fuji commanded.

With an insulted huff she pulled out several pieces of identification. Both Tezuka and Fuji studied them carefully and finally the tennis captain nodded.

"I'm Ryoma." The young boy said as he walked up to stand between Fuji and Tezuka while the rest of the tennis regulars, all nine were considered such now that they were in high school because the coach had demanded at least two alternates, came to stand behind them.

She looked him up and down before sighing.

"Show me your I D." She demanded.

He pulled out his student pass and she glanced at it for all of two seconds before storming back towards the limo.

"Hurry it up already! I have better things to do than fetch snot nosed brats."

Ryoma hadn't moved and neither had the others.

"What are you waiting for?" she demanded when it became apparent that they weren't moving

"My teammates are coming with me." Ryoma half stated half demanded.

"Yes, yes. Your mother already informed us they might. Now get in the car already!"

The nine tennis players glared at her as they piled in and she slammed the door after them before getting in the front with the driver.

"Ryoma-kun was that your mothers coworker?" Fuji asked as he leaned forward from his seat.

"No. We're meeting Kobayashi Nami-san at the office." Ryoma replied from his seat across from the older boy.

"Do you know this rude woman?" Tezuka asked.

"No, she must be from the other law firm that is representing the will."

"Do you plan on saying more than two sentences at a time today?" Momo blurted out.

This question had been used to gauge Ryoma's mood for the last few as it was what had brought about the first long conversation they'd had with the young boy that wasn't about tennis.

"Not really."

This answer signaled that Ryoma was nervous and in a bad mood. Tezuka took that in and shifted almost imperceptibly closer to him. Ryoma simply sighed and looked out the window. He hadn't told the others what he was inheriting because it wasn't definite yet. Certain things had to be done or proven before he received anything. If everything went as it should then Ryoma would be set for life. His mom had walked him through the basics of it over the phone and he stood to inherit a large piece of property, approximately 20 acres, which included a place of residence, as well as several hundred million dollars. Frankly he wondered if they would treat him differently should he receive the inheritance, but came to the conclusion that at most Momo would start mooching money or make him pay for the burgers.

The limousine coming to a sudden stop successfully shook Ryoma from his thoughts as it nearly shook him from his seat. A door slammed a moment later and the one next to Ryoma was abruptly pulled open. Takako reached in and hauled Ryoma out just as a motherly looking woman in grey slacks and a white blouse came running over.

"Let him go at once!" the woman demanded.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Takako said with a sneer.

"Kobayashi Nami. I'm the Echizen lawyer in the absence of Echizen Rinko-san. Now I suggest you unhand my client."

"Fine. Better you than me."

She let Ryoma's arm go and stomped off with a glare, grumbling about babysitting and being send to fetch like a dog, or worse an intern.

The rest of the tennis team piled out of the vehicle as Nami patted Ryoma's shoulder and smiled at them.

"Are you alright Ryoma-kun? Did she hurt you?" the lawyer asked looking concerned.

"I'm fine Nami-san." Ryoma replied looking down.

"Good. Well you all must be the amazing tennis team I've heard so much about. Ryoma-kun and Rinko-san have barely stopped talking about you in the past four years."

She was met with blank faces until Oishi and Tezuka spoke up at the same time looking mildly embarrassed,"Yes. Thank you ma'am."

She smiled as she watched Ryoma blush.

"Well shall we go in before I embarrass Ryoma-kun anymore?" Nami said as she turned to lead the way.

Ryoma, who was standing by the back of the limo, and the others turned to follow when Ryoma suddenly felt himself get shoved backwards to the ground. As he was picking himself up a sudden loud honk ripped his attention to his right. He found himself frozen to the spot in the direct path of a car that was not slowing down.

"RYOMA!" a voice cried out as he felt someone grab him and pull him close.

When he dared to open his eyes again he found himself wrapped in Tezuka's arms back on the sidewalk.

"What happened? Are you alright?" the eighteen year old asked without letting Ryoma go.

"I don't know. It felt like someone pushed me but no one was there."

Half an hour later they were all sitting in a large office facing a man who was sitting behind a desk.

"Well everything seems to be in order Mr. Echizen. Your mother sent over all the notarized documents needed to prove your lineage. The only matter left to deal with is what week you will stay at the house to finish meeting the requirements of your great, great, great, great Grandfathers will." The man said with a kind smile.

"The will doesn't specify whether or not you can have someone with you, other than saying your parents cannot set foot on the property until the week is over, so feel free to bring friends or a cousin. Also you don't need to worry about the house needing repairs. Each generation, since Echizen Kiyoshi built it, has made sure it was in good repair whether or not anyone was living in it. Just a few weeks ago we hired a team to make sure everything was working and to check the floors, ceilings, roof and walls. You have electricity with back up generators, phones, indoor plumbing, showers and baths, the kitchen appliances are all new, and we even set up a couple of makeshift tennis courts." Nami said with a smile.

"Ah." Was all Ryoma said in reply.

The rest of the regulars conversed quietly for a moment before they pulled out their cell phones, sent text messages to their parents and received replies, and nodded to Tezuka who was sitting next to Ryoma. Tezuka leaned over and whispered to Ryoma who simply looked at him for a minute before replying quietly,"Onegai."

Tezuka nodded and the sixteen year old turned back towards the lawyer behind the desk.

"Since tomorrow is Sunday and the beginning of our week long reading break it would be ideal for us to move in then and leave next Sunday." Ryoma intoned in a bored voice.

"I'll pick you all up tomorrow to show you around and give you the keys. There are accounts set up at a few grocery stores and restaurants that you can use to stock the house with as much food as you want on the firm." Nami said with a smile knowing full well that her boss didn't realize how much it would cost to feed nine teenaged tennis players.


	2. Confusion and History

Ah, sorry, sorry, I forgot the disclaimer last time. I don't own Tennis no Ohji-sama or any of its characters. The original characters in here are free to be used as you see fit.

Authors note. The sixteen year old spirit will refer to Ryoma as Echizen for reasons that will be made clear later. It might be confusing because the spirit lives in the old Echizen mansion but I just wanted to let people know. Also in case it wasn't clear in chapter one, Ryoma is 16, the six third years from the series are 18, and the two second years are 17. This takes place in high school assuming there are at least three grades there. Oh and in case anyone wants to comment that technically if Ryoma gets together in a sexual relationship with Tezuka and Fuji it is statutory rape, but I'm just going to ignore that for the sake of the story, hey, it's fan_fiction_ after all.

The next morning Ryoma was double checking everything he had packed when someone knocked on his bedroom door. He called for them to come in and his cousin entered looking a little worried.

"Do you have everything Ryoma-san? The phone number of the spa I'll be at? My cell phone number? All your clothes and toiletries?"

"Hai Nanako-san. Everything is packed and I have all the emergency numbers, you programmed them into my cell phone." He replied in slight frustration.

Nanako had been planning this week long health spa vacation for months but when she found out Ryoma would be spending the week in a strange house she had started fretting worse that Oishi did when someone was hurt. She'd not only helped him pack last night but had programmed all the emergency numbers into his cell just in case as well as making sure it had a full charge. She'd checked everything at least five times and nearly called off her own trip three times.

"Ah! I need your phone one more time. Oba-san and Oji-san called Ryuuzaki-san from the middle school you attended and she agreed to check up on you all a few times. I have her number for you. Maybe I should just go with you, nine teenaged boys alone in a strange place for a week really isn't a good idea."

"Nanako-san, my parents said it was fine. Six of my teammates are 18 and all of my friends' parents will be available as well. You've been looking forward to this vacation for so long, and you said yourself that you think your boyfriend might propose to you this week. Go, have fun, we'll be fine." Ryoma said levelly as he took his phone back after she finished with it.

"Demo…" whatever she was going to say was interrupted by the door chime.

As his cousin rushed to answer it Ryoma finished packing the cat's toys, litter, brush, treats, and food. A minute or two later he heard Nanako and her boyfriend talking before another chime rang through the house. He picked up Karupin and made his way downstairs just as Nanako was about to come up to get him.

"Ah, Ryoma-san. Two of your friends are here. I'm ready to leave, are you sure you'll be alright?" Nanako asked again.

"I'm sure. Have a good time."

Once they entered the living room Ryoma found Tezuka and Fuji standing there waiting. Nanako, who had long ago become used to Ryoma's team randomly stopping by, walked up to the two boys looking quite serious.

"Please take care of Ryoma-san." She asked of them.

"Of course. Ryoma will be safe with us." Fuji replied smiling as Tezuka nodded.

She thanked them before hesitating once more but Ryoma insisted again that they would be fine. Once she was gone Ryoma turned back to the other two boys who were still standing in the middle of the room.

"Please sit, the others should be here soon. Would either of you like anything?" Ryoma asked as Karupin jumped from his arms.

"Ah. Which way is the washroom Ryoma-kun?" Fuji said.

"Down the hall and to the right, the door should be open."

His sempai smiled and wandered in that direction after squeezing Tezuka's hand briefly, causing Ryoma to blush very slightly. The sixteen year old was used to their displays of affection towards each other and was happy for them but he couldn't help wish that some of those caresses could be aimed at him. Lately it seemed that they had been brushing against him or touching his shoulder more often though he simply chalked it up to coincidence. He'd been having embarrassing dreams about them recently as well and it was becoming difficult to be near them when they were like this without becoming jealous, though he'd been able to hide it well or so he thought. The only other problem was that he didn't know of whom he was more jealous, Tezuka for having Fuji, or Fuji for having Tezuka. He liked them both and if liking one person who was already in a relationship was a problem, liking both was a disaster.

In the kitchen the spirit of a sixteen year old boy was sitting at the table wondering how he was going to keep these boys away from his house. He would injure them if he had to, but he wasn't sure if he had the energy left to push one of them again. That had taken a lot out of him and had been useless as one of them had saved the other. He'd used at least a quarter of the energy he'd gathered in just finding the boy the day before only to arrive as he was leaving. Following him had taken a bit more and his attempt to push him onto the road and hold him as a car came had nearly finished off what he had left. He'd been gathering more since then but he only had a fraction to work with, maybe just enough for two small attempts at moving something.

A cat wandering into the kitchen caught his attention and he wondered if the animal would give his presence away. The feline merely blinked at him and meowed in a welcoming way. She then proceeded to jump up onto the table and sit in front of him with her tail twitching. Clearly she wanted attention from him and he reached out sadly wishing he could stroke her. He'd always loved cats but unless he used the little energy he'd regained he couldn't actually touch her. Evidently his lack of attention annoyed her as she got up and attempted to jump onto him which only succeeded in knocking over the chair.

"Buchou would you li…" Ryoma was cut off by a loud crash coming from the kitchen which startled them both into standing.

As he moved to go and see what had happened his foot caught the leg of the couch. He closed his eyes as he was about to sprawl backwards when two strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him close in a familiar embrace. Opening his eyes he found himself once more in the tennis captain's arms, this time though the older boy's face was mere inches from his own and the look in his eyes was something Ryoma had only dreamed would be directed at him. This wasn't right though, Tezuka was with Fuji and he couldn't think of either of them cheating on the other, no, he must be mistaken.

"Buchou…"

Once again Ryoma was stopped from what he was about to say. This time however it was because one of the eighteen year olds fingers was pressed against his lips.

"Ryoma, when we're not on the courts please call me by my name."

Ryoma blinked in confusion. This couldn't be happening, could it?

"Tezuka-sempai…"

"Kunimitsu." Tezuka insisted interrupting the boy again.

His captain was just lowering his head closer to his when a picture flew off the mantle and hit the floor, startling them upright. Tezuka reluctantly removed his arms from around Ryoma when the boy pulled away. He bent and picked up the picture as the younger boy practically fled to the kitchen. He was sorry he'd startled him and when Fuji rejoined him a moment later he shook his head.

"It didn't go well then I take it or did you not get a chance?" the tensai asked softly.

"I had him in my arms again, but this fell from the shelf and startled us. He's retreated to the kitchen; I think I might have gone too far too fast. I'm not sure if this plan is going to work."

"Saa, we should probably just back off for today then and try again tomorrow a little slower. I want him Kunimitsu, and I know you do as well." Fuji replied, an intense look in his now open eyes.

His lover simply nodded, passion filling his normally unreadable eyes. Seeming to impulsively remember the photo the captain held in his hand they both looked down to see what it was of and Fuji's eyes widened in concern. There in his lovers hand was a picture of Ryoma but the glass in the frame was broken. Two cracks intersected in a near perfect X over the boy's face.

The sixteen year old spirit closed his eyes in frustration. That had been a close call; the bespectacled boy had nearly marked Echizen. Had he succeeded there would have been hell to pay when they got to the house. He knew they were going to get there, after all there was not much more he could do to stop them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to send them right back out. He had enough power outside of his house for one more trick, so long as it wasn't too exerting, so he planned to follow the nine boys back to his house and see if an opportunity presented itself along the way. The other boys would be at Echizen's house soon, he could feel them drawing closer, and with that many people he didn't want to risk the chance of one of them being aware of him so he hid himself away up in a vacated bedroom.

Ryoma was still hiding in the kitchen when Fuji walked in and pulled him close. Ryoma's eyes went wide and he tried to struggle until he felt a hand start to stroke his hair. This was his week spot and the fact that the sadistic tensai knew that made him wonder if this was heaven or hell. He'd been hugged by Fuji before and nothing had happened so he wondered if he was reading too much into this but he still couldn't make himself relax completely.

"I'm sorry if Kunimitsu startled you Ryoma-kun. We both agreed that we've known you more than long enough for you to use our given names. Please call me Syuusuke whenever you want to. Kunimitsu and I would never hurt you Ryoma; he feels badly that he scared you. Please come back into the living room to wait for the others." Fuji said as he continued petting the other boy's hair.

Ryoma pulled back, relieved that his sempai easily allowed him to, and searched Fuji's eyes, which could be a frightening experience at times. He just nodded his acceptance when he came no closer to finding an answer to what had happened in the other room minutes ago. The older boy smiled, closing his eyes and gently pulled the boy back into the living room with him as the cat preceded them into the room. Tezuka looked relieved when the other two came and sat back down with him, though Ryoma chose another seat away from the two but still facing them. Before the silence could become awkward the door chime sounded, announcing someone's arrival. Ryoma stood up and went to let whoever it was in. Several voices were soon heard in the entrance hall. He was soon followed into the living room by the rest of the regulars as they had all shown up on his doorstep at nearly the same time. Putting their luggage down next to the two bags that were already on the floor they exchanged greetings with their other two teammates as Ryoma retreated upstairs to get his own bag. Karupin despised cat carriers so Ryoma had decided to just hold her on his lap when they went. When Ryoma entered his room he found it unnaturally cold but simply shrugged it off as the time of year as he gathered his bag and left the room making sure to shut the door. He didn't notice the frost that was now covering the inside of the window and his alarm clock. Joining his team downstairs he found that Kobayashi Nami had arrived and been let in. She had brought an even larger limousine than they had ridden in the day before so that their luggage could be brought without squishing the team.

"So, are you all ready to go? The house has been stocked with basic foods but you should call the store when we get there and ask them to deliver what you want. Ryoma-kun, have you locked up the house?"

"Hai, Nami-san. Everything should be ready." Ryoma answered as they all followed her out of the house.

Karupin was happily curled up in Kaidoh's arms purring in contentment. As Ryoma had grown closer to the older boy in friendship he had discovered just how attached Kaidoh was to his cat. After he'd found out he had taken to asking the boy to pick him up in the mornings so he could join him on his 10km run, Kaidoh agreed and started showing up at least 15 minutes early just so he could play with Karupin as Ryoma had figured he would. Now an easy, though quiet, bond lay between the two that could not be severed.

Half of their luggage went into the trunk while the other half was placed on the empty seats in the interior. There was still plenty of room for the boys and the lawyer to sit quite comfortably and so they piled in and were soon being driven out of town.

"Kobayashi-san, do you know any of the history of the house Echizen is inheriting?" Inui asked about 20 minutes later as he brought out one of his notebooks, though this one looked fairly new.

"Ah, of course, I should have told you that yesterday, sorry. Echizen Kiyoshi originally had it built in 1840 as a marital house for his wife Miyamoto Aya, within three years they were blessed with two sons. For some reason we haven't been able to find the name of the first son but the second son was named Kenji. Kiyoshi and Aya's first son died in his sleep a short time after he turned 16 and, not long after, Kiyoshi killed himself. Kenji married a woman named Lee Kyoko, who moved into the house with Kenji and his mother. Kenji and Kyoko were also blessed with two children. A girl they named Aya, after Kenji's mother, in 1865 that also died when she was sixteen by falling down the stairs, and a boy they named Shuuichi in 1868. Two years after young Aya's death the family moved out of the house but chose to keep the property because of Kiyoshi's wishes. A few years after they moved out Shuuichi married Ashiya Kana and in 1893 they had one son, Kazuo. Kazuo was betrothed to and married Fujitaka Ami who insisted that they move into the abandoned, but up kept, house. Their first child Mai, who was born in 1928, drowned in the pond with her boyfriend on the day of her 16th birthday. Ami died giving birth to her son Katsuro who nearly died at age seven trying to save his sister. The family moved within the year and none of the Echizens have been back there since. Katsuro, by the way, is Ryoma-kun's grandfather. He married Hiroshi Makoto who's only child was Nanjiro-san. Many say the house is cursed but really it just seems like accidents to me." Nami explained with an innocent smile.

Inui and Ryoma immediately looked towards Kaidoh to see if the boy was frightened by the story. Both let out a sigh, Ryoma's of relief and Inui's of frustration, when they noticed he was sleeping peacefully with Karupin held securely in his lap.

Oishi suddenly spoke up out of curiosity.

"It was never really explained yesterday how Ryoma was specified in the will. Do you know Kobayashi-san?"

"Yes. Kiyoshi set up a separate bank account than what he left to his family. In his will he indicated that the money should be used to keep the house in good condition and that the property be kept within the family for their use. However he added another secret part after his first son's death. It stated that should ever the firstborn son of a direct descendant of his be named Ryoma he would receive the house and the bank account, which has been added to by his descendants over the years, after he turned 16 if he could stay there without his parents for one week. No one knows why he did this, but it is legal and none of the Echizen's that are living wishes to challenge it. Personally I think that either Kiyoshi liked the name Ryoma and was eccentric, or that it was the name of his first son." As the words left her mouth there was a loud bang and the vehicle swerved violently before settling on the side of the road.

The commotion woke Kaidoh who quickly saved Karupin from being jolted to the floor. As soon as they stopped the cat jumped from the boy and ran to Ryoma, where she proceeded to cower in his lap. The door was opened and the driver stuck his head in.

"Is everyone alright? Something blew one of the tires."

When they all answered an affirmative the driver asked them to step out with their luggage so he could change the tire and they were soon back in the limousine and on the road again.

The spirit was absolutely exhausted as he watched the driver change the tire in dismay. When the hell had those contraptions started carrying spare tires? Disappointed, he returned to his mansion to try and prepare himself for whatever might happen.


	3. Oyasuminasai

I don't own Tennis no Ohjisama or any of its characters. The original characters in here are free to be used as you see fit.

The nine tennis regulars piled out of the vehicle and stood staring at the three story mansion. Ryoma merely blinked and stroked Karupin who was still cuddled in his arms.

Nami was the last to exit the limo and after the others got their luggage she motioned them to follow her. At the door she handed Ryoma a key ring and moved so that he could open the door.

"Welcome Ryoma-kun. The first floor has the kitchen and pantry, two bathrooms, a tea ceremony room, and an entertaining room, to which we've added a stereo system and television. The second floor is all bedrooms except for the three bathrooms, and the third floor has storage rooms, one bathroom and several more bedrooms. Each bedroom has a small section of furniture for entertaining visitors. The house has had a heating and air conditioning system installed and each room has a vent that can be opened or closed as each person wishes, right now they're all open to heat the house. The controls for that are on the wall by the stairs. I can give you the grand tour now, or you can choose your rooms first if you like." Nami said as she led them past the entrance hall.

Oishi spoke up when it became apparent that Ryoma was a little overwhelmed.

"We should probably choose rooms and put our luggage in them so that we won't be carrying it on the tour."

"Of course, I'll wait for you all on the third floor when you're done and we'll work our way down from there. The rooms on the second floor are all open, except for one. For some reason we can't find the key to it and any spares we have made break. We've had several locksmiths attempt to open it with no luck and our carpenters tried as well with the same results. We thought we should see what you wanted to do with it before attempting to break it down and replace it. Well, I'll see you in a few minutes." The lawyer said as they reached the second floor and she carried on to the end of the hall where there was another staircase.

Ryoma just walked over to a random room, or so it seemed to the others, and looked inside. While each of the other rooms were scarcely decorated this room was decorated with woodblock prints, paintings, and a few small ivory statues. Karupin jumped from his boy's arms and was soon curled up on the bed purring contently. To anyone who was watching the young boy closely, and several of his friends were, they noticed that Ryoma had gone a little pale and there was a confused look in his eyes as though he were seeing something he knew wasn't there. In fact Ryoma was seeing two rooms, the one that the others saw and an older fashioned one. Some of the artwork and statues were in different spots than they were now and a futon replaced the bed, there was also something just outside of his line of vision that he couldn't seem to catch sight of. A hand on his shoulder brought the world back to normal and he looked up slightly into the eyes of Kawamura.

"You ok Echizen?" the sushi chef in training asked in concern.

Ryoma and Kawamura had never become truly close but they were still friends and the older boy, though he seemed almost timid at times when not holding a racket, was protective of the team, especially the three younger boys.

"Hai sempai. Just thought I saw something for a minute. I'll take this room since Karupin already seems attached to it." Ryoma said as he walked into the room not noticing the cold spot he passed just inside the door.

Tezuka, Fuji, Kawamura, and Kaidoh gave him a strange look before joining the others in choosing rooms. Tezuka and Fuji took the room across the hall from Ryoma and to the right of the stairs. To the left of the stairs was Kaidoh and in the room between Kaidoh's and the bathroom was Kawamura's. To the left of Ryoma's room and facing the stairs was Momo's room and to the left of him went Oishi and Eiji, with Inui in the room between them and another bathroom. Ryoma had a bathroom to the right of his room and the large locked room spread out to both sides of the hall with the door marking that end of the passage. The stairs leading to the third floor were between the two bathrooms at the opposite end of the corridor.

Once everyone had chosen their rooms and placed their luggage in them they gathered at the stairs to go up together, Ryoma was once again carrying his cat. Suddenly they heard a woman's scream from somewhere above them and the boys thundered up the stairs to see if Nami was alright.

They found the woman cowering in a corner about to throw one of her shoes at a mouse. Karupin immediately jumped from Ryoma's arms and raced after the now running creature.

"Nami-san, are you alright?" Ryoma asked as he approached the frightened woman who was putting her shoe back on.

"Ah, gomen Ryoma-kun, everyone. I've always been afraid of rodents, I'm sorry if I startled you." She replied after taking a deep breath.

"It's fine," The sixteen year old said with a nod before turning to look for his cat. "Karupin come back."

Karupin meowed in annoyance as she pawed at the wall where the mouse had disappeared through a hole. She looked up when she heard her boy's voice call her name but what she saw next to him is what truly caught her attention. A young girl about her boy's age was standing in the shadows beside him. She looked angry but sad as well and she reminded Karupin of the boy she'd met in the kitchen back home. At least she did until the girl reached up towards a painting on the wall and the cat sensed danger for her favorite human. Karupin became enraged and with a challenging yowl she raced towards the now wide eyed girl spirit and pounced.

The nine boys and one woman watched as the cat suddenly yowled and went running towards the wall before jumping and rebounding off it.

"Karupin?" Ryoma said seeming to suddenly question his cat's sanity.

She in turn wound herself around his ankles asking to be carried.

"Well then, now that we're all assembled again, let's get on with the tour." The lawyer said with a forced laugh.

The others nodded and followed obediently behind her. The first few rooms they came too were smaller versions of the bedrooms on the second floor, but the third door on the left held something different. A cleaning supplies closet, which happened to be across the hall from the upstairs bathroom.

In the middle of the hallway Nami stopped and took down a long pole with a small leather loop on one end that had been hanging on the wall. She reached it up, hooked the loop over the open end of a handle on the ceiling and pulled down with all her strength. A trap door finally groaned open and she reached the tool up again to snag the ladder which was easier to pull down.

"That gentlemen is how you get into the attic. We cleaned and made sure everything was stable but other than that we didn't touch anything. There's quite a bit of your ancestral history up there Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma looked up the ladder with mixed feelings. He'd never been that interested in his family history but now that he was here he felt almost obligated to at least take a look. In fact it kind of felt like something was trying to pull him up into the attic. Vaguely Ryoma thought he could hear Karupin meow and someone say his name several times but it didn't seem important enough to register at the moment. The attic was all that mattered.

Once again it was someone placing their hand on his shoulder that brought him back to himself. Or rather it was two someone's. Tezuka and Fuji each had a hand on one of his shoulders and concern in their eyes. With a start Ryoma realized that he had one hand and one foot on the ladder rungs as though he were going to climb up. He didn't remember having moved. Ryoma shook his head quickly, trying to clear it, and stepped back from it quickly. Looking around him he was thankful to find that Inui had distracted Nami and most of the others with questions. Tezuka and Fuji were on ether side of him, their expressions still worried, while Kaidoh was using the pole to put the ladder and door away. He was glaring at the opening as though sentencing it to a slow and painful death.

A short time later the touring tennis players found themselves back on the ground floor. They were nearing the end of their guided excursion and had only the Tea Ceremony room left to see. As they neared the door Ryoma could feel the hair on the back of his neck start to rise and an intense unknown fear gripped him tight. Without apprehending what he was doing he reached out a hand to either side of himself and gripped Fuji and Tezuka's hands in his own. Surprised, but pleased, at the boy's action they each glanced at him. What they found was not the embarrassed blush they'd expected but a wide eyed, pale skinned, terrified look that they had never seen before and hoped never to see again. All three stopped a good distance from the room and Tezuka leaned down to speak quietly to the younger boy.

"Ryoma, are you alright? What's wrong, do you feel sick?"

"I… I can't… I can't go in there. There's something wrong with that room." The now shaking sixteen year old replied.

Ryoma had never been so scared in his life. He didn't know how, but he knew something horrible had happened in that room. He did know, though, that it was something he didn't want to find out. He tried to steady his nerves and as the others were turning back towards the entertainment room Ryoma realized that he still had a hold of his two teammates' hands. Blushing bright with mortification he quickly released them and stepped out of sync from them, missing the looks of disappointment that fluttered across their faces.

"Right then, I put a copy of the numbers for the grocers and the restaurants by the phone, and here's another for you. Now, I have an unusual favor to ask of you boys." Nami said as she handed Ryoma some papers.

"What is it Nami-san?" Ryoma replied.

"Well, this will sound strange but I want you boys to order as much as you want and then some. I want you to run those accounts up as high as you possibly can. Feel free to throw a party or something, so long as the house stays in one piece, and have it catered."

"Huh?" was the basic sentiment she received from all the tennis players.

"Well, the truth is, I don't really like my boss. He's far too arrogant and needs something of a rude awakening. He still hasn't realized just how much money you guys might spend on food and such, and he laughs my opinions off. So I want you boys to go all out if you can. I promise no repercussions will fall upon you, and no there is no hidden rule that would cause you or your families to pay for what you buy."

"We'll see. Thank you Nami-san." Ryoma replied with a hint of his smirk.

She in return, bowed and bid them all goodbye.

Alone now the regulars piled into the kitchen to see what had been stored for them already so they could make up a list to order. Opening the fridge they found two gallons of milk, three quarts of juice, some different lunchmeats, and various fruit. On the counter next to the fridge were two loaves of bread, and in the freezer was some chicken and steak. They were lucky if it would last the day. Quickly making a list Ryoma phoned it in to one of the stores and asked for it to be delivered after giving the account number and name. They were told that the groceries would be delivered in about an hour, so the boys decided to unpack a little before then.

Ryoma was in his room looking for a more comfortable shirt, he had already taken of the first, when he felt eyes on his back. He'd left the door partly open in case Karupin decided to come in, not that it really mattered seeing as these boys changed in front of each other all the time for tennis practice. Turning around he found Momoshiro staring at him. His sempai suddenly gasped as he got a good look at Ryoma's chest. There were two large dark bruises that were vaguely in the shape of hand prints.

"Ryoma! What happened? How did you get those bruises!" the seventeen year old yelled as he barged into the room.

His voice consequently brought the rest of the regulars rushing out of their own rooms to see what was going on.

"Echizen! Are you alright? Who did this to you? Has someone been abusing you?" Oishi said worriedly as he examined the injury.

"I don't know how I got them sempai. They were there after I got home from the law office yesterday. They don't hurt much though."

Tezuka was looking Ryoma straight in the eyes the boy's words from the day before circling through his mind, "It felt like someone pushed me but no one was there."

"Those look pretty bad, you should rub some ointment into them if you can. I'll go get some from my pack." Oishi said as he rushed back to his room.

Fuji hadn't said anything but his eyes showed both livid fury and concern for Ryoma. Someone had hurt one of his precious people, and when he found that someone he would make sure they paid.

Upstairs in the attic the spirit of a sixteen year old boy shivered with the sudden feeling of danger that crept up on him.

After the boys were sure that Ryoma either really didn't know who had done this to him or wasn't going to tell them they left him to change, which he now did with the door closed, and to put the salve on his chest, not that Fuji didn't try to help him.

That night, while Ryoma was preparing for bed someone knocked on his bedroom door. Opening it he found Tezuka and Fuji standing there. Apprehensive about being trapped by either of them again, no matter how much he'd enjoyed it despite the confusion, he let them in but stayed just out of their reach.

"We came to say goodnight Ryoma." Fuji said with a smile.

"Ah, oyasumi-nasai sempai." He intoned as a reply.

"Now that wasn't quite the goodnight I had in mind, and what happened to using our names? You use Kobayashi-san's name so easily, it shouldn't be a problem for you to use ours." the tensai said as he drew slowly closer.

"Right, that. Umm, goodnight Shusuke-san, Kunimitsu-san." Ryoma muttered as he backed up until he hit the bed causing him to sit down abruptly.

This made Fuji's smile widen and Tezuka's eyes soften more than they had been when the two showed up in his room.

"Saa, Ryoma. Oyasumi." Fuji said sensually as he bent at the waist.

Ryoma closed his eyes, unsure of what was coming next. Suddenly he felt a kiss pressed onto his forehead. The lips then trailed there way gently down to his cheek bone before they temporarily left his face only to return to softly caress his nose in a playful way. He opened his eyes again, feeling sure that he was bright red, when he felt Fuji move away. While he was still reeling with shock Tezuka leaned down where his lover had just been. Ryoma closed his eyes again but did not try to escape. The team captain hesitated for a moment before placing a kiss next to his left eye and then one to the corner of his mouth. Before withdrawing though he brought his left hand up to tenderly stroke Ryoma's face and lips.

"That's what I call saying goodnight, for now at least. Ryoma, just remember, we sleep with our door unlocked, and you're always welcome. Sweet dreams." Fuji said as he turned to leave.

"Goodnight Ryoma, remember what Shusuke just said. The invitation is always there." Tezuka said as he too turned to leave.

Ryoma was completely confused now. He wanted them, that much he knew, and it seemed that they now wanted him too, but was this invitation of theirs for keeps or was it just open to occasionally playing. Did they truly want him or did they just want to have fun a few times? One thing he did know was that he now had to make use of the bathroom beside his bedroom to take care of a throbbing problem.

'Why couldn't everything just be tennis?' he thought as he settled down to sleep with Karupin. Despite his turmoil he fell asleep sooner than he expected he would thereby not noticing how cold his room became a minute later.

The sixteen year old boy spirit slowly approached the bed in which Echizen slept. The cat he'd met at the house sat up and glared at him as if she wondered if he too would now try to hurt her boy. Now that he was in his house he had energy to spare once more so he reached out and stroked her soft fur in reassurance. No, he would no longer try to hurt this boy to make him leave. It was too late for that. Now he would have to concentrate all his efforts on saving this ones life. The boy leaned down and studied the boy's face closely with sad eyes before tracing a hand over the spots the boy had been kissed. Withdrawing his fingers he pressed his lips to the boy's temple in a brotherly way. The living sixteen year old shivered and pulled the covers further up without waking.

"Oyasumi-nasai, Ryoma." The spirit whispered before leaving the room.

A short distance away in the locked room another spirit awoke, his eyes glowing red in anger.


	4. Far From Done

Ryoma woke with a start to someone pounding on his door.

"HORA, HORA, COME ON! TENNIS PRACTICE IN HALF AN HOUR! GET UP YOU LAZY BOY!" Kawamura thundered in English from the other side of the door.

Ryoma instantly knew that the older boy had a racket in his hand and dreaded opening the door. The last time Taka-san had come to wake him up like that, tennis camp two months ago, he'd chased Ryoma outside while he was still in his pajamas. The noise from the other side of the door paused a moment later and another voice spoke up.

"Kawamura-sempai, Fuji-sempai would like your help removing the tarps from around the courts. I'll get Ryoma-kun up."

Ryoma blinked at Kaidoh's slip up when he'd said his name. Normally the seventeen year old only used his first name when they were talking in private.

"NO PROBLEM!" Kawamura yelled as he ran down the stairs.

A much softer knock sounded when the noise died down.

"Come in Kaidoh-sempai." Ryoma called as the door opened slowly.

Karupin, having heard one of her favorite voices, was already waiting for him. Kaidoh slipped inside and happily picked up the cat as he walked towards the now standing teen. The older boy sat down on the bed with his back facing the boy who was changing into his casual training clothes.

"Ryoma, has something been bothering you lately? You were acting strangely yesterday and I heard you pacing the hall last night."

"Pacing? That wasn't me Kaoru, I slept through the night. If I'd been out in the hall Karupin would have made a beeline for your room." Ryoma replied, successfully distracting the boy from his original question.

"It must have been someone else. Maybe Momoshiro forgot where the bathroom was." Kaidoh said making Ryoma smirk.

The sixteen year old finished dressing in silence as his sempai lavished attention on Karupin. He walked over and picked up the Himalayan cat.

"Karupin you need to stay inside the house. I don't want you getting lost." The cat meowed in response to Ryoma's order and patted her boys face with one of her paws, making sure to keep her claws sheathed.

Ryoma put her back on the bed as he made his way out the door with Kaidoh, leaving it open so she could explore. After a visit to the bathroom to wash his face the two went down to the kitchen where Ryoma was met with a plate full of breakfast.

"I don't have time Oishi-sempai. Practice starts in…"

"Sit and eat Echizen. Practice won't start until the others find the brooms. The carpenters may have done a good job building the courts but they left sawdust all over them. How are those bruises this morning? Did you put more of that cream on?" Oishi said as he entered mother hen mode.

The only answer he received was a shrug as Ryoma ate in silence. The door to the kitchen opened and the next thing Ryoma knew there were two arms wrapped around him from behind and a nose buried in his hair as someone nuzzled him. He turned his head when he could only to have Fuji press his cheek against his own. Ryoma was too stunned to move.

"Ohaiyo Ryoma. Did you have sweet dreams?" the older boy asked with a mischievous glint to his eyes.

"Good morning Fuji-sempai." Ryoma intoned back as he blushed bright red and longed for his hat to pull over his eyes.

Oishi smiled at the scene in front of him and turned away so as not to embarrass the younger boy more than he was already. Oishi and Eiji were in a long standing relationship as well and they were also close enough to Shusuke and Kunimitsu to have been let in on the plan they had. He'd suspected that Ryoma wanted the two of them, but he had advised them to be careful of how they approached the younger prodigy for fear that Ryoma would be scared away from them. Kaidoh on the other hand happened to be privy to the fact that Ryoma did want a serious relationship with the two sempai's. Watching his sempai hug his kouhai in such a way, though, Kaidoh wasn't sure if Fuji was merely playing or being serious. They didn't know it, but he'd been in the hall outside Ryoma's door the night before and he'd heard how they said goodnight to him. For some reason however it didn't put him at ease about the situation.

"Ryoma, I told you, call me Shusuke."

"Ah."

"Shu su ke." Fuji insisted with a closed eyed smile and he rubbed his cheek against Ryoma's again.

"Shusuke." Ryoma repeated knowing he wouldn't be released until he did.

This kind of public display was not completely to his liking even if it was only two other regulars in the room. Closing his eyes for a moment he relaxed and just let himself feel the warm strong arms around him before he pulled away. Fuji's eyes opened in disappointment as Ryoma escaped from his embrace, but he closed them quickly and forced a smile.

"Saa. Ryoma, did Kobayashi-san mention anything to you about yard work equipment being somewhere special when she took you home on Saturday?" Fuji asked.

"Ah. I think she mentioned a shed being to one side or something." Ryoma replied.

Fuji smiled and kissed the top of his head before he left to go find it.

Fuji rounded the side of the house and smiled in delight as he saw a shed. Making his way towards it his smile turned into a frown, he was suddenly quite certain that something unfriendly was watching him. Looking around he found nothing that should cause this discomfort but still the sensation persisted. As he reached his destination he decided that if he didn't find a broom in there then he would return to the others empty handed. Opening the door the saw the sought for object leaning against the back wall. Looking around the small space he realized that there truly was no room for anyone to hide and that it had also been cleaned of spiders and insects. He took a step inside only to be shoved from behind before the door slammed. A quiet click made it clear that he'd been locked inside the small structure. The prodigy's eyes opened to reveal a dangerous gleam. Someone definitely needed to be taught a lesson.

Momoshiro wandered aimlessly around wondering where he could find a broom for the courts. He thought maybe there might be a groundskeeper's cottage somewhere further into the forest but the captain had told them not to go in there without a partner. He'd said it was for in case they got lost but that didn't make much sense to Momo. If he was with someone when he got lost, then it would be two missing people instead of just one, leaving less people to look for the one, but he wasn't about to disobey Tezuka. The last time he had the older boy had upped the punishment to 200 laps and a week of ball pick up duty. He'd then made Momo clean the equipment and locker rooms. No it was better not to make Tezuka angry. Now that his mind was on the tennis captain his thoughts turned to something that had been bothering him lately. Tezuka and Fuji had been hanging around Echizen too much for his liking. Now that he thought about it they had been touching him an awful lot too. That wouldn't do. Echizen was supposed to be his. He'd been closest to the boy from the beginning, hanging out with him, taking care to get him to school on time, taking him for food after school. He'd been the one to find and return his cat the time she'd followed Ryoma to school. Why couldn't the boy wake up and see what was right in front of him. He'd tried to make a move on him once but that had led to Ryoma pulling away from him. They were still close of course, but Ryoma now hung out more with the others, like Kaidoh taking him on his runs and therefore to school in the mornings, or Kikumaru dragging him out for ice cream when he and Ryoma were going to get burgers. Even Oishi seemed to be nudging Echizen towards the captain and the tensai. How was he supposed to make what he wanted obvious to the younger boy if they ruined his moments with him? Sometimes he wondered if his efforts were worth it, after all Ryoma really didn't seem interested in him. Yes sometimes he wondered but then his mind would remind him of how much he liked the boy. Really, Ryoma was so cute, so stubborn, so strong, so confident, so… so right in front of him!

Momo stumbled to a stop and blinked. When had Ryoma gotten a blue kimono, and why was he wearing it now? The boy turned and looked at Momoshiro with a pleading expression before motioning him to follow. With that done he took off, moving faster than the older boy had ever seen him run before. It was almost like his feet weren't touching the ground. Momo took off right after him. He followed the boy around the corner of the house only to find him nowhere in sight. In fact the only thing around was a tool shed. Oh well since Ryoma had disappeared, probably embarrassed to be caught wearing something other than his practice clothes, he figured he may as well check the small building for a broom.

The red eyed spirit smiled evilly as he watched the boy struggle with the door. Someone of his build would never be able to break the lock, and in just a few more minutes he would have enough power again to bring the structure crashing down on the boy's head. Once that was done he could try to figure out which one of the other boys were attempting to lay claim to the young Echizen. Before he could do any of this, though, a familiar energy itself wrapped around the building blocking him from destroying it. One of the boys came running around the corner just then, and after hesitating a moment he carried on towards the shed. The spirit decided to retreat for now, but he was far from done.

Fuji stopped trying to open the door when he heard footsteps outside. Wondering if it was whoever pushed him in or if it was one of his teammates he stayed silent, deciding to err on the side of caution.

"Huh? The door is stuck!" a familiar voice said as its owner rattled the handle.

"Momo! I'm stuck in here; can you get the door open? Ryoma should have the…" he let his voice trail off when the door was heaved open, snapping the old lock.

"Or that works too. Thank you Momoshiro. You've been training with Taka-san again huh?" Fuji said as he stepped out with two brooms.

"Ah. Are you alright sempai? How did you get trapped in there?" the power tennis player asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure how, but no I'm not hurt. Anyway we should get these back to the courts so we can start practice."

As they walked towards the recently built tennis courts they were hit with the first few drops of rain from the storm clouds that were quickly gathering. The four other regulars that had been outside met them halfway back to the house just in time for them all to get drenched as they ran towards the house in the now pouring rain. When they arrived they found Kaidoh and Oishi sitting at the table while Ryoma finished making a large pot of tea. Momo looked at the sixteen year old strangely.

"Hey Ryoma, where'd you get the blue kimono you were wearing ten minutes ago and how did you change so fast?" he asked his kouhai.

The three dry boys stared at him as if he'd grown an extra head.

"Momo-sempai I've been here since Kawamura-sempai and Kaidoh-sempai woke me up, and I don't own a blue kimono. I wouldn't wear it without reason even if I did."

"But I saw you. You led me to the shed." Momo protested.

"No Momoshiro, you didn't. He's been with me since he woke up." Kaidoh stated.

"Maybe Momo-chan needs his eyes checked." Eiji said as he walked upstairs to change, dragging Oishi with him.

The rest of the soaked regulars followed quickly but not before Fuji pulled Ryoma into a one armed hug, ensuring that the boy would at least need to change his shirt. This act earned him a glare from Momoshiro, a warning look from Kaidoh, and an inquisitive look from Inui. It also brought out a look of hatred from a currently invisible red eyed ghost but Fuji ignored the chill going up his spine passing it off as being cold from the rain water. When they'd reached the top of the stairs Fuji leaned over and whispered into Ryoma's ear.

"Bring the bruise ointment into our room once you've changed please." With that said he turned and joined Tezuka in their room.

The captain raised an eyebrow at his lover as he pulled on a pair of pants. Leaving his shirt off he walked over to caress the others cheek and steal a kiss.

This was how Ryoma found them when he walked in, closing the door behind him, with the requested item in hand. He'd decided that it was time to start evening out the score in this game so he'd changed into a button down black polyester shirt that he'd left unbuttoned and his pair of low riding black jeans that hugged in just the right places. Nanako had bought them for him and she called them his 'great date' jeans, Ryoma secretly translated that as his 'I know you're checking out my ass' jeans. Though why Nanako had hidden this outfit in his bag with a note that told him to 'go for it' was beyond him, he was happy she had. He was not disappointed at the stares he received from the two and let his trademark smirk play on his lips.

"The wheatgrass extract you asked for Shusuke. Are you hurt?" Ryoma said as he came nearer to the two.

"Thank you Ryoma. Maybe you could help me put it on? Something seems to be troubling my shoulder blades." Fuji said as his eyes devoured the lithe form.

Ryoma shrugged and crawled his was onto the bed behind the blue eyed prodigy. Tezuka helped Fuji remove his shirt and instantly became worried when he heard Ryoma gasp.

"Sempai what happened?" Ryoma asked in shock forgetting the game of teasing for the moment.

"I'm not sure; someone shoved me into the shed and locked me in. About twenty minutes later Momo found me and let me out." Fuji replied after seeing the no nonsense look Tezuka was giving him.

The captain looked at his lovers back and hissed in sympathy. He moved back in front of him when he saw that Ryoma had opened the cream and was gently working it into the dark bruises. After making sure that the marks were truly saturated with the balm he found he wasn't really willing to take his hands away from the milky but marred skin. Ryoma tenderly stroked the eighteen year olds back hoping that he wasn't crossing too far over the boundary he'd set himself. Tezuka's eyes regained the fire they'd had when the sixteen year old had walked in as he slowly moved towards Ryoma's face. The captain's right hand was stroking Fuji's hair and the tensai's arms wrapped around his waist in return. Ryoma was just about to let himself give in and kiss the bespectacled boy when a knock on the doorframe caused him to jump back.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting, we're going to need more groceries and you're the only one who can phone them in." Inui said to Ryoma when he answered the door.

"Fine." The annoyed teen replied as he walked out into the hall leaving two very frustrated tennis players in the room.

Truth be told he was almost relieved that the data player had interrupted them, he wasn't sure if he was ready for what they'd been about to do.


	5. Maybe There's Hope

The malevolent spirit glared furiously down at the sleeping 16 year old. This Echizen Ryoma needed to be taught a lesson. The boy had practically thrown himself at the two others the day before and that wasn't right. The ghost had made sure before he came into the room that the annoying cat was nowhere to be seen, after all, the feline was protective of her human and he didn't want the boy waking up anytime soon. Smirking to himself he ripped the covers off the slumbering form and used a little energy to make old long healed injuries appear to his eyes. This boy had so much to work with he, didn't know where to start. First though he laid one hand on the boy's brow and took control of his dreams causing the child to shift uncomfortably without waking.

The first memory the ghost brought to the forefront of Ryoma's mind was that of Fuji hugging him and petting his hair. Then as the boy smiled pleasantly he shot his hand down over his left eye bringing him the pain of when the racket cut him. The teen thrashed his head to the side but remained in the strange nightmare. The malicious smile returned to the specters face and he hastened to bring up another memory. This time of the other boy he'd seen in the room and the memory was of Ryoma being held by him and the feeling of safety it had brought to him. That brought another serene expression to his face which changed instantly to one of agony when the ghost slammed his fist into another old injury. This time it was from when the boy dislocated his shoulder at age 7. This torture went on for at least an hour, memories that would bring the boy a feeling of happiness or lust followed quickly by minutes of intense pain. The ghost finished with him finally, the last memory being that of the two boys saying goodnight to him the previous night and of him shamelessly seducing them which he ended by bringing the pain of every single injury the boy had ever received followed by a swift solid backhand to the boy's cheek. He disappeared just in time for the teen to shoot straight up in bed gasping in fear and agony.

Ryoma woke gasping from what seemed to be a horrible nightmare that had left him sweating heavily and throbbing with phantom pain from wounds that had long ago healed. His eyes darted around the room with a fear he didn't quite understand and when he found no apparent danger he grew restless. Looking at his alarm clock he saw that it was 5:30am and he decided that he may as well get up since he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep again. Silently creeping out of his room and towards the bathroom so as not to wake anyone else he failed to notice Karupin exit Kaidoh's room. The cat followed him and just barely snuck past the door before it closed. She jumped up onto the counter drawing Ryoma's attention instead of to the mirror. After splashing water on his face, which oddly stung for some reason, he grabbed a towel and straightened up as he patted himself dry. The towel fell from his fingers, though, as soon as he caught sight of his reflection.

His face was covered in bruises, an especially dark one on his right cheek, and scars from old cuts that had never scarred in the first place. Ryoma started shaking as he stared at his image in disbelief. Turning away from the mirror only caused him more distress as he came face to face with himself in a kimono. Ryoma was hard pressed not to scream but chose to keep silent, all the while wondering if he was either still dreaming or going crazy.

"Please, I know this is strange. I'm not here to hurt you Echizen. Don't be frightened of me." The ghost, for that was the conclusion the living boy had come to, said soothingly as he petted Karupin.

It was that act which helped Ryoma relax since the feline was purring contently instead of freaking out.

"What do you want and why do you look like me? Who are you? Did you do this to me?" Ryoma demanded cautiously.

"I want to talk to you and to heal what was done to you. I'm not the one that hurt you tonight Echizen, you must believe me. I'm truly sorry for the pain he has brought you. Technically speaking, however, you look like me as I was born first over one hundred years ago. Now Echizen, I'm going to ask you a very important question that you need to answer truthfully." The spirit said quite seriously.

"Nani?" Ryoma responded suspiciously.

"Tezuka-san and Fuji-san, do they want you sincerely? Would they protect you with their lives and stay by your side through anything?"

The living Ryoma contemplated that carefully. He thought he knew the answer but at the same time it was incomplete.

"They will protect me, but I don't know if they are serious in the way they want me." was the truthful reply.

The sixteen year old spirit became quite worried, that was not the answer he'd been hoping for. It was all well and good that they would protect him but they had to love him or the boy wouldn't live past the week. He only hoped that he had read them correctly and that they got their act together and convinced Echizen. Oh well, he couldn't interfere in that aspect anymore. If the two of them hadn't marked the boy then none of this would be happening and now he had to let things progress at their own pace. All he could do is try to help where he could and what he could do right now was heal Echizen.

"I'll repair the damage he did to you tonight Echizen, but I won't always be able to protect you. You need to figure things out. I'm sorry, but you won't remember any of what has happened here tonight."

The spirit didn't give him a chance to say anything as he reached out and took the teen's face in his hands. Exerting his power he watched as the marks on the boy's body slowly disappeared including the bruises he himself had caused. The living sixteen year old then slipped unconscious and was caught by the spirit of a girl before he could fall to the floor.

"I'll put him back to bed Uncle Ryoma. You go and rest." She said softly.

"Please do Aya-chan, and for the last time don't call me uncle, we're the same age." The boy spirit said as he floated his way through the ceiling.

The last thing the ghost heard was the bang of the living boy's bedroom door. He winced, knowing it would be heard by the others, figuring that she must have bumped something with Echizen's body.

Echizen Aya, one of the two sixteen year old female spirits in the house, cringed as the boy's arm slammed into the half open door causing it to bounce off the wall. Fearing discovery she hastily threw the boy onto the bed and retreated to the attic not bothering to fix the covers of the bed which had been pulled off earlier.

Tezuka Kunimitsu sat up in bed, instantly awake, to a strange sound coming from outside the window. Feeling the movement and tension of his lover of three years, Fuji Shusuke sat up just as awake as his bedmate. The strange tapping noise came again drawing both their gazes to the window where they were met with the sight of two crows sitting on the sill and pecking at the glass. Shusuke's glare set them in a frenzy to leave; when Kunimitsu looked at him he simply closed his eyes and smiled.

THUMP

The loud sound from across the hall had both of them jumping out of the bed and out of their room in their boxers to see what had happened. Once in the hall they found the rest of the regulars gathering for the same reason, the only one missing was Ryoma. As one the eight teens turned to their youngest member's room as if expecting the boy to open the door. When nothing happened Tezuka strode forward and opened the door without warning. After all if there was something wrong he didn't want to stand on niceties. The tennis players burst into the room fearing to find a stranger hiding or preparing to hurt the young boy.

Instead all that was to be found in the room was Ryoma, sleeping soundly, sprawled on the bed in an almost uncomfortable way. The tennis captain and the teams Tensai approached the bed as the other players left the room. They sat on either side of the slumbering teen and Tezuka gently brushed his hair from his eyes. Fuji placed a hand on his shoulder and lightly shook him awake with a soft smile.

"Saa, Ryoma. It's time to wake up. Didn't you hear that noise?" Fuji said quietly.

Ryoma opened his eyes and blinked at the two in confusion. He didn't remember hearing anything as far as he could tell he'd slept deeply through the night, though he was a little stiff and sore now that he thought about it.

"Shusuke, what are you talking about? I haven't heard anything until you woke me up."

The two eighteen year olds shared a look between them and silently decided to leave it at that.

"Never mind, it must have been something Karupin or one of the others knocked over accidentally. We're having a free practice today since it looks like it will stay sunny. We should get some breakfast and get out there, so it's time to get up." Tezuka said with a small smile as he watched the younger boy yawn.

Fuji abruptly frowned when he spotted the boy's right arm as he stretched. He caught hold of it and studied it closely.

"Ryoma, where did this bruise come from? It wasn't there yesterday." Fuji asked probing it carefully causing the boy to flinch.

Ryoma looked at him strangely before examining the arm himself. He didn't remember this and he must have hit it hard to have caused that big and dark of a bruise.

"Ok, ten laps around the house before free practice. See Inui for advice on things you need to improve on and try to incorporate them in your training today." Tezuka called out after everyone had gathered outside.

As they got set up on the unofficial start line Tezuka took a step to join them only to stop as his shoelace suddenly snapped. He blinked in surprise but simply shrugged it off as coincidence as he dug another out of his bag which was leaning against the house. He never noticed the observant and worried gaze of his lover as Fuji took in what happened and added it to the growing list of warnings they'd been receiving. Fuji decided then that after practice he would have to phone his sister and ask her to get a box of talismans set up for him. According to Ryoma, Ryuuzaki-sensei was coming over for dinner the next night; maybe she would be kind enough to bring it out to him. His thoughts turned back to practice as Kunimitsu joined them and the running began.

Tezuka watched the others pair off to train as he walked back towards the house to grab his racket. Eiji and Fuji were on one of the two courts, Oishi was helping Momo control his strength in smash practice, Kaidoh had paired up with Ryoma for a run through the woods, and Inui was talking with Kawamura a short distance away. He bent down to unzip his bag and choose which racket to work with when he heard someone shout his name. The next thing he knew he was on his back, with Kawamura half on top of him having tackled the bespectacled boy, as something crashed nearby.

The other four that were nearby ran towards the three of them as the two got back up. Inui was crouched down examining the remains of a thick clay pot that was laying shattered where Tezuka had been standing.

"Kunimitsu!" Fuji said in an apprehensive way as he reached them.

Tezuka drew the other to him in a comforting way.

"I'm fine Shusuke, thanks to Kawamura. Thank you Taka-san."

"It… it's no trouble." Kawamura said stumbling over his words since he was not holding his racket.

"Taka-san arigatougozaimasu." Fuji said as he stared into his eyes causing the sushi chef in training to blush in embarrassment.

"This shatter pattern and angle of decent mean that this pot could only have come from that window straight above, but if my calculations are correct that window is in the locked room at the end of the hall. Also by the thickness of this clay, the fact that there is, though it seems impossible, wet planting dirt in it and the way the pot did not tumble as it fell only one conclusion can be drawn. This pot was meant to, and would have, killed you had it hit your head Tezuka." Inui told the others with a worried look.

"Alright, enough of this. The pot was probably placed on the sill when the workers checked the window. The rain from yesterday could have moistened the soil and caused it to shift until it overbalanced or slipped off the ledge." The captain said in an attempt to calm his team.

He was thankful that Ryoma wasn't here to witness this; it was bad enough that Fuji was worried about him now.

The red eyed ghost sneered at the sheer dumb luck of these boys. Obviously 'accidents' just weren't going to cut it here. Well, if he couldn't kill them, Echizen Ryoma would have to be saved from them the hard way. The boy would have to die.

The spirit returned to his room to prepare.

"Ryoma, you're slow today, did you stretch properly?" Kaidoh said as he checked his pace to match that of his kouhai.

"Yeah, I stretched, but I'm really sore today. I have been since I woke up. Kaoru, can I ask you for advice?" Ryoma asked without stopping their run.

"Of course." The older boy replied easily knowing that if he pushed Ryoma then the boy would shrug what was bothering him off.

As it was the sixteen year old was silent for a minute or two as though considering how to word what he wanted to know.

"Kaoru, how do I know… how do I tell if someone is in love?" the sixteen year old prodigy asked quietly.

"Fshhh. That is a difficult question Ryoma. I guess, if someone loves you they want to take care of you. They want to be with you and protect you." Kaidoh replied trying, and in his opinion failing, to find the proper words.

Truthfully he loved the boy in his own way, but it was a different love than the one Ryoma wanted to know about. He wanted to protect this special person but saw him more as a little brother to take care of.

"Demo, how do I know if they want to be with me for real? What if they're playing around or they're not serious in the long run? How do you tell if they just want to protect you as a friend or are in love with you?" the boy said suddenly quite forward in his distress.

"I don't know if I can explain. If they love you they should be willing to tell you in some way. It might not be in words, but you'll know it when it happens."

"Thank you, sempai." Ryoma said, seemingly crestfallen at the answer.

Kaidoh knew who the boy was asking about and to see him like this strengthened his resolve. He would ask Tezuka and Fuji just what they meant with all of their teasing and bold offers to the boy. He would protect Ryoma as best he could, no matter what it meant he had to face.

After they got back to the house Ryoma went upstairs to change as Kaidoh entered the kitchen to get a glass of water. He was surprised at his luck to find Tezuka and Fuji alone there. The two looked up as the solemn boy approached.

"Sempai, forgive me for being forward but I need to ask you two something serious."

"What is it Kaidoh?" Tezuka asked.

"I don't mean to be rude but I need to know. What are your intentions towards Ryoma? You have him so confused right now that he doesn't know what to think." Kaidoh asked in a rush.

The two eighteen year olds were silent for a minute as they looked between each other and the seventeen year old. They hadn't thought their offers to Ryoma that hard to read but apparently they'd complicated the situation a little too much.

"Kaidoh. We are completely serious in the way we want Ryoma. We want him to join us for good, not for just a night or two. We would never hurt him like this intentionally." Tezuka replied sincerely.

"Ryoma is our love. In a way we are incomplete without him, but we will never force him to be ours if he chooses otherwise. No matter what, we will always stay by his side." Fuji also said in honesty.

Unnoticed by the three boys in the kitchen the ghost of a boy smiled in hope. Maybe, just maybe, these boys had a chance.


	6. Take A Deep Breath

**_Authors note: Day check! It is currently around 11:30 pm_** **_Tuesday night, but this chapter carries on into Wednesday. Also the chapters might be a little shorter than previous depending on how well my mind kick starts._**

That night Ryoma lay in his bed trying to sleep despite the feeling of unease that had settled over him. Ever since he had returned from his run with Kaidoh earlier he'd felt like someone was watching him. Finally he fell into a fitful sleep unknowingly playing into the hands of the red eyed ghost who was just waiting for his chance.

The ghost checked that his chosen tool was still where he had left it in the teen's room before going out into the hall to check for that thrice damned feline. He'd been trying to slip the powder into one of the boy's drinks all day but that cat had gone nuts at the sight of him every time and knocked the poisoned liquid away from the teen. That bloody cat would not foil him this time; he'd make sure of that. He found the animal in the room of the more serious looking seventeen year old and before she could sense him he quietly shut the door, trapping her inside the room.

The red eyed spirit smiled grimly as he reentered Echizen's room and picked up the vial of powder that he'd left earlier. He would have to make this count since only two doses remained. Still that should be plenty to finish this one off. It had been hard as hell to get his hands on when he was alive, he'd had to search and cover his tracks for a week so as not to sully his family name, as well as pay a small fortune to obtain this one vial. As far as he knew they still didn't know how to trace the poison, even if they did he would simply plant clues to lead the authorities towards those two bastards that had tainted the boy's purity and corrupted his mind. They would pay, he would make sure of that, but first he had to save this boy and that could only be done through his death.

He drew near the sleeping teenager and reached to remove the stopper.

"No. We won't let you do this again." Three voices commanded as three 16 year old spirits appeared.

Before he could stop them the two girls grabbed him by the arms causing him to drop the unopened vial which hit the floor and rolled to the other side of the bed. He wrenched himself free and moved to strangle the living boy when he was stopped again. The spirit of the boy grabbed his living look-alike by the right calf and pulled him off the bed.

Ryoma jolted awake with a yell as someone grabbed his right leg and pulled him, blankets and all, off the bed. He sat on the floor trembling and watched, wide eyed, as the pictures, statues, and most of the furniture all tipped over and hit the ground at the same time.

CRASH!

The eight other regulars shot out of their beds and into the hallway to see what had happened. Tezuka and Fuji were the first to reach Ryoma's room with the rest of boys not far behind as they charged in. Scanning the room for an intruder they quickly made their way to Ryoma's side. They found the sixteen year old pale white, shaking, and sitting on the floor in a mess of blankets in the middle of what looked like a disaster area.

"Ryoma are you alright? What happened?" Tezuka asked as he knelt down and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder.

The boy jumped and looked at the tennis Captain with wide frightened eyes before surprising them all by throwing his arms around him and burying his face in the older boy's shirt. He wasn't crying but something had scared him badly. Fuji came and sat down by his lover. He reached out to caress Ryoma's hair in an attempt to calm him only to have the boy catch his hand and pull him closer.

Wanting to know what happened but not wanting to intrude five of the other boys looked anywhere but at the three. Momoshiro on the other hand chose to glare at the older two, and only stopped when Fuji returned it tenfold.

"Ryoma what's going on?" Kaidoh asked forgetting the honorifics due to the situation.

This seemed to snap the boy out of his state of fear enough for him to pull back and answer.

"Something grabbed me and pulled me out of bed. Then everything just crashed down." Came the strained reply.

The regulars looked at each other in confusion. Between the time Ryoma had shouted, the crash, and the time they had rushed in, there would have been little to no time for someone to have exited the room and hide.

Inui took note of the damage around the room (the bed was the only piece of furniture still upright), the fact that the window was closed and that it was strangely covered in a film of ice, and the 16 year olds placement in the room. The conclusion he came too was more confusing than the questions that were filling his head. Ryoma couldn't possibly have done all this and gotten to where he was without a lot more noise and faster speed than even Fudomine's Akira. There was also no conclusive sign that anyone else had been in the room. On the other hand there were the mysterious appearing and disappearing bruises on the boy and the fact that Echizen hated tricks like this. No he wouldn't have done this; but what did that leave? As his eyes examined the room something glinted from under the edge of the bed. Stealthily he managed to pick it up and pocket it without anyone noticing.

"Kaidoh, Kawamura, and Inui search the third floor and attic. Momoshiro, Oishi, and Kikumaru search the ground floor but don't go outside. Yell and run if you find anyone or call the police if they don't notice you. Ryoma, Shusuke, and I will search this room, the washrooms, and keep an eye on the hall until you get back. Then we search our own rooms with each other close by. If there is someone else in this house they won't get far." Tezuka said in a commanding voice.

He knew it was a little unfair to the other two teams but he and Shusuke needed to calm Ryoma down; though he had moved his face away from Tezuka's shirt he still had a hold of both of them. Despite the fact that Momo didn't seem to pleased the rest of them nodded, understanding.

Tezuka and Fuji slowly stood up drawing the still frightened boy with them.

"FSSHH! Ryoma what the hell!" Kaidoh exclaimed as he stared intensely at his Kouhai's right leg.

There was a dark bruise clearly in the shape of a right hand wrapped around his lower calf just above his ankle.

"Echizen are you alright?" Oishi asked as he knelt to check the injury.

"Shuichiro, leave Ochibi to Tezuka and Fuji. We need to find whoever did this to our baby boy!" Eiji cried out as he dragged his lover and Momo out of the room.

The other team followed soon after to head to their search assigned area.

Once they were gone Tezuka and Fuji sat down on the bed, still holding Ryoma in between them. Fuji stroked his hair again as Tezuka whispered reassurances in his ear.

"Ryoma, did you see anything when you woke up?" Fuji asked glancing around the room as though expecting an attack.

"I did, but… I couldn't have seen what I think I saw. I don't know what's going on but it's not possible." Ryoma responded now that he was calmer.

"What did you see?" Tezuka asked.

"It sounds crazy but I know I was awake. I saw red eyes to my left and there was a shadowy figure about my height right in front of me pulling me off the bed." The sixteen year old sounded as confused as the other two looked.

None of them were sure what to think of this. It just seemed more and more impossible as the nine finished searching the house. No one had found anything to imply that anyone had broken in and there seemed to be nobody else in the house. They re-gathered in the second floor hallway when they had finished searching their rooms.

"It seems impractical for someone to have gotten in and out of the house without our noticing; however it is also impossible for Echizen to have done all this. One possible explanation is that there may be a secret passage connecting the locked room to this room through the bathroom. This would allow them to escape to an unlikely location. Another is that the house is haunted." Inui stated confidently.

Kaidoh paled but held his ground. He hated ghosts and haunted houses but his loyalty towards the other boys overcame his urge to run.

"Either way we shouldn't simply ignore the possibilities. None of us should sleep alone, just to be safe." Inui continued.

"Ryoma should sleep with m…" Momo was interrupted by both Fuji and Tezuka before he could finish.

"Us." The two said in unison.

"But…"

"That's a good idea. Echizen seems to be the main target, so it is better to have him with two people." Oishi added.

Ryoma simply shrugged. He hadn't let the two get more than ten feet away since they'd entered his room earlier but he was still apprehensive about sleeping with them. It was then decided that Kaidoh and Inui would be on the same side of the hall as the three of them in Kaidoh's room which was on the other side of the stairs. Across the hall Kawamura moved into Momo's room while Oishi and Eiji kept the room they'd had to begin with. It was 03:00am by the time they all settled in to sleep again.

Upon entering the room Ryoma looked around before moving towards the couch to set up his blanket and pillows. A hand caught at his elbow and tugged him towards the bed where Tezuka was already climbing under the blankets. The bed was large enough to easily hold six adults but still Ryoma hesitated.

"Ryoma, the couch is no good for you to sleep on. Nothing is going to happen unless you want it to. We promise to behave." Fuji said honestly.

It was obvious to them now that they had pushed too far and they had to let Ryoma take the next step.

"Ryoma, we won't hurt you, and we could never force you. You're safe with us." Tezuka said soothingly.

Sensing their sincerity Ryoma relaxed a little. He climbed onto the middle of the bed when it became apparent that Fuji wouldn't get in until Ryoma did. Fuji went back to shut the door and watched in amusement as Ryoma's cat sprinted inside just in time. When he turned around his fingers itched for his camera but he knew it was a bad time to take pictures tonight. The scene was tempting though.

Tezuka was sitting up in bed, without his glasses, and was getting the fingers of his right hand licked by Karupin. Ryoma was also sitting up but he was leaning back against Tezuka, holding the cat against his chest and burying his face in her fur.

Promising himself that he would someday photograph this scene and have a painting of it commissioned he joined them. He was more than compensated for his lack of picture when Ryoma's head rested on his shoulder after his hand found his lovers behind the younger boy. Karupin regarded him with a purr when he scratched her behind the ears. This felt right, somehow, and he could see the echo of that in the faces of the other two.

Ryoma put Karupin down on the bed as the three of them settled down to sleep. Reminding himself that they wouldn't try anything yet he made his body loosen up when Tezuka spooned up behind him, resting an arm over him so that his hand was on Fuji's hip. Fuji was facing him and had rested an arm on top of Tezuka's but let his hand splay on Ryoma's side. Taking a deep breath Ryoma melted back into the tennis Captain and shyly reached a hand out to tangle in the tensai's shirt bringing a smile to the lips of both 18 year olds.

After the three humans fell asleep Karupin gently crept her way onto Tezuka's hip and curled up to fall asleep herself.

_**I know it's shorter and a hell of a lot fluffier at the end but please don't shoot me. Did I make Ryoma too wimpy?**_


	7. Unwelcome Interruptions

The spirit of the teenaged boy looked longingly at the scene before him. He'd come close to this happiness when he was alive, or so he thought. If only Yori-kun hadn't abandoned him in front of the other then maybe, just maybe, he might have been allowed to live freely. He'd loved him and been loved by him at least that's what he'd thought at the time; but Yori-kun had left him to the wrath of the other when they were found. He wished, just one more time, that he could feel the warmth that only the arms of a lover wrapped around you could bring. Looking at the three boys before him he could almost feel that sensation again. Almost imagine that it was him lying between the two boys, enveloped in their strong embrace, instead of his brother's descendant who by some cruel twist of fate looked exactly like him. If he were still alive he might shed a tear from the pain of the loss he felt but ghosts couldn't cry _real_ tears, just memories of tears they'd shed before.

Fuji Shusuke had always been sensitive when it came to supernatural things, so when he felt a shiver run up his back and the dropping temperature in the room his eyes opened immediately. He sat up quickly to look around and ended up staring straight into a pair of hazel gold eyes, at least he was until they disappeared. The presence that had been in the room faded quickly and he looked down just to make certain, but Ryoma was still sleeping soundly. In fact the boy still had a firm grip on his shirt so he lay back down and smiled when he met Tezuka's alert eyes. His lover was not sensitive to spirits, at least not as much as he was, but Tezuka was sensitive to him and had woken when he sat up.

The team captain simply shifted closer, pulling Ryoma firmly against him and reached over to stroke his lovers face. His hand, however, was intercepted by an attention loving cat who managed to sneak her head under it by walking on her mistress' face.

Ryoma, used to this by now, moved her into his arms before sitting up and taking in his surroundings. Realizing just where he was and with who made him blush and squirm his way out of the bed a bit faster than he normally would. Deciding to just ignore his slight embarrassment he made for the bathroom to get ready for the day. Ryoma stopped for a moment outside of his room, he'd forgotten to grab any clothes last night but the room seemed almost intimidating after what had happened. Shaking the feeling off he opened the door and walked in cautiously looking around him for any danger. Just because he wasn't going to let himself be scared off didn't mean he had to be stupid about being in the place he'd been attacked. As he was rifling through his things to find what he wanted to wear today his skin started to crawl. Someone was behind him.

"Oi. Ryoma, you really shouldn't be in here alone after last night. What happens if whoever it was comes back?" Momoshiro asked as he stood behind the tense boy.

"Momo-sempai. Don't sneak up on people like that." Ryoma answered as he tried to calm himself.

He'd been ready to spin around and try to make a break for it before the powerhouse player had spoken; instead he just relaxed back into a crouch by his suitcase. The seventeen year old looked confused about something and Ryoma knew that if he pushed him now he'd never get to the point, but if he left him too long the older boy might think himself to death too.

Momoshiro sat on the bed unsure of how to approach the subject that had been bothering him. Ryoma was looking at him as though he was contemplating the answer to a difficult problem and it wasn't helping him decide on what to say.

"Just spit it out." The sixteen year old finally said in annoyance five minutes later.

"Huh?" Momo replied.

"You want to say something but you're thinking too much. Just spit it out like you normally would."

"Well there is something I wanted to… Hey are you saying I don't think before I talk!"

"Mada, mada dane. This isn't going to involve you picking me up and hugging me again, is it?" Ryoma asked in cautiously.

"Ryoma I'm being serious!"

"Then say it already."

"Look it's kinda hard to say, but… I like you Ryoma. I want to date you." Momoshiro said softly not daring to look at the other.

Ryoma sat on the floor looking up at him in confusion. How was he supposed to reply to this? If Momo had been a girl he could just say no or tell her he didn't like girls like he had with Sakuno, but Momoshiro was definitely not a girl. He wasn't just some random guy that he could turn down without a second thought either. Why did life have to be so difficult? He thought he'd gotten the point across to the older boy when he'd gotten angry and stopped hanging out with him so often last time. He didn't want to hurt his friend but he just didn't want Momo in that way.

"Say something." The demand snapped Ryoma from his thoughts.

"I… Momo-sempai it wouldn't work."

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't it work?" the older boy asked as he clenched his eyes.

"You're a great friend but _we_ just wouldn't work. We can't even play a game of doubles without trying to kill each other; how do you think it would be dating? Besides, I like… I love someone else. I'm sorry but you and I can't be more than friends." Ryoma finally said hoping the words were right.

"Tezuka-buchou and Fuji-sempai, right?"

"Yeah."

"I guess I can't compare. At least I know they can treat you right. Just promise me that if that ever changes you'll consider me okay?" Momo said quietly as he got up to leave.

"Hai." The answer was just as hushed.

"Well I should go get ready for practice." Momoshiro said as he strode quickly across the room to hide a tear that almost escaped.

"Momo-sempai."

"Hai?" the older boy said without turning to look back.

"Do you want to have a practice game with me?" Ryoma asked uncertainly.

The words brought a smile to Momoshiro's face despite the pain. Trust Ryoma to try and fix everything with Tennis.

"Sure."

Just as Ryoma entered the kitchen after getting dressed the phone rang.

"Ohaiyo Ryoma-kun. I have something I forgot to tell you." Nami's voice said after Ryoma answered the phone.

"What is it?"

"It was foolish of me not to mention it, but there are two vehicles in the garage that your friends with licenses can drive while you're out there. The keys are on the drivers seat of each car. The will says you have to spend the nights there but you can leave during the day. How are things going out there?"

"Fine." Ryoma answered.

"That's good. Anyway the cars belong to the law firm but since you're mother works here it was decided that you and your friends should use them. Have fun Ryoma-kun, just three more days after today and the house is yours!"

Ryoma blinked in annoyance at the happy squeal that followed the lawyers words and quickly hung up the phone, she may be a dear friend of his mom's but the woman was just plain ditzy.

"Echizen who was that?" Inui asked as he walked into the room.

"Nami-san."

"Nya? What did she want Ochibi-chan?" Eiji asked as he dished up the omelet he'd made for the younger boy.

"Thank you Kikumaru-sempai. She wanted to let me know that there are two cars in the garage that we can use if we want to go into town or anything during the day." Ryoma replied as he sat down to eat.

"Perfect." Inui said as he fingered the glass vial in his pocket with a smile.

"Nya?"

"Oishi! Let's see who's at the street courts for a doubles match before we go to the tennis shop!" Eiji exclaimed as he jumped from the barely stopped car.

"Sure, we just have to make sure to watch our time. Inui we'll meet you back here in three hours ok?" the vice captain said as he stepped out to join his lover.

"Ah, I'll see you soon. Give me a call if something else comes up." The data player said as he prepared to pull back out into traffic.

He got back onto the highway shortly after and went through the directions in his mind once more. After all he'd never been to that person's house since he moved 8 years ago. He'd told the others that he had some errands to run, and while that was technically true he was sure they hadn't guessed that it would take him into Rikkaidai's territory. About half an hour later he pulled into the strange driveway and stepped out in confidence and approached the door as it opened without his knocking.

"I estimated that you would get here about now if you didn't get lost."

"How could I? Your directions were perfect. It's good to see you again Renji." Inui said as he stepped inside with the other's permission.

"It's good to see you as well Sadaharu. What did you come for though? You mentioned that it wasn't about tennis which most likely means you need a favor." The Rikkaidai data player said as he led his ex-doubles partner towards his room.

"You're right; I do have a favor to ask. Is your brother still a private detective?"

"Yes, but he's away until tonight." Renji responded with a curious furrow to his brow.

"I need him to evaluate the powder in this container. He does still have that chemical analyzer doesn't he?" Inui said as he pulled out the vial.

"Yes he still has it, and I'm sure he'll look at this when he gets back. Where did you get this? What's going on Sadaharu, is someone on drugs?"

"I don't believe so, but I can't rule it out until I know for sure what that is. One of my teammates was attacked last night and I found this just barely under his bed. It's possible something was trying to kill him." Inui's statement was met with the rare opening of his friend's eyes which quickly closed again when they saw he was serious.

"Someone tried to kill one of them? From the look in your eyes I can only assume it was one of two. You normally only get this worried over Kaidoh or Echizen, though they both are capable of taking care of themselves. I understand they're both younger than you, but why you only concern yourself over those two has remained a mystery to me as you obviously care for them all."

"Ah. Yes something attacked Echizen. I'm just not sure what yet."

"Eiji come on, it's time to go; we still have shopping to do before we meet Inui." Oishi said as he tried to drag the hyperactive red head away from the courts.

"But, Oishi." Eiji whined playfully.

"Excuse me." A new voice from behind the two said.

"Hai?" Oishi said as he turned to find himself face to face with Fudomine's Akira.

"You're on the same team as Momoshiro still right?" the speed player asked.

"Yes, in fact our team is staying at the same place right now. Did you need me to tell him something?"

"Yeah, are you calling him out or something?" Eiji butted in with a conspiratorial look in his eyes.

"Could you please give this to him?" Akira said ignoring the jibe as he handed Oishi a piece of folded paper and took off before they could say anything else.

"Ah." Oishi said looking after the retreating boy.

"What's it say Nya?"

"Eiji, it's rude to look at a letter meant for someone else. Come on, let's go before we're late.

Several hours later Inui found himself sitting at his laptop that he'd set up in his room at the mansion, completely stumped on how to proceed with this mystery. He'd managed to download every version of the blueprints to this house that had ever been transferred to computer, but it looked like there weren't any secret passages or rooms that they didn't know about already. He let out a sigh of frustration. He wouldn't hear from Renji's brother until tomorrow at least, and he'd already gone over the room Ryoma had been attacked in with a fine toothed comb and found nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was like running into a brick wall or continually tripping up while trying to learn a new tennis move. He didn't like it. It was like facing Tezuka, Fuji, and Echizen all at the same time in a match.

Deciding he'd been brooding long enough he rose and made his way downstairs to find Ryoma. Luck was with him as he the sixteen year old in the entertainment room watching a video with Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi and Eiji.

"Echizen, I've been trying to find out more about this house, I was wondering if I had your permission to search the attic for clues." He said bluntly.

"Sure. Just let me know what you find up there." The younger boy replied barely glancing up.

"Thanks." Inui said as he noted the blush Ryoma was trying to hide.

Most likely it was due to the face that Tezuka was massaging one of his hands for him and Fuji had slightly lifted the back of his shirt and was softly rubbing his fingers along the skin he'd revealed.

He made a mental note to add that to his data collection later as he turned and headed for the top floor.

Forty-five minutes and three near box burials later, much to the amusement of the three invisible teenaged ghosts, Inui finally found something useful. There, tucked away in a corner under several other things was a small box that held three tissue wrapped journals. A dark brown one that looked to be the oldest was labeled **Echizen R.**, a white one that had been stained off white with age with the name **Echizen Aya** written in a type of calligraphy, and a pink one with white sakura petals decoration that had the name **Echizen Mai**. He could only assume that they were the journals of the three sixteen year olds that had died here. Echizen R… could that Echizen, likely Kiyoshi's first son, really have had the same name as Ryoma? Somehow possibility seemed more and more likely. He would have to find out but he wouldn't snoop into this any further without permission; after all these books belonged to his family and it would be wrong, no matter how much data they could give him, to read them without Ryoma's ok.

With that in mind he gathered them back into the box and carefully made his way back downstairs. He decided to check the living room first only to find that Tezuka, Fuji and Echizen had abandoned the room leaving Oishi and Kikumaru in a small amount of privacy which the two were taking full advantage of. Good data; Kikumaru likes to wrap both his legs and his arms around Oishi when they kiss, and Oishi seems to have a slight obsession with groping Kikumaru's ass. He'd have to try and sketch it in his notebook later, but for now he had to find their youngest teammate. He pushed his glasses up as he turned and headed for the kitchen. They weren't there but he did discover Kawamura teaching Momo how to shape some of the easier maki rolls. There was an open note by the phone that seemed to have been crumpled and smoothed several timed. Glancing from the corner of his eye he read it with a smile; more good data_. 'Momoshiro. If you're not still hung up on the brat that defeats Shinji all the time then give me a call and we'll go out or something. Akira.'_

Leaving that room he next found Kaidoh in the second story hallway playing with the cat.

"Kaidoh, have you seen Echizen?" Inui asked making the seventeen year old jump.

"Ah, I think they're in their room checking Echizen's ankle and Fuji-sempai's back." He answered with a blush.

"Thank you."

He turned and with a few quick strides he was in front of their door wondering if he would be interrupting something again. Smiling to himself he decided to knock, besides, it was almost time for Ryuzaki-sensei to show up for dinner. Tezuka answered the door with his shirt open and an annoyed look in his eyes.

"That's twice now Inui; what is it?" the team Captain snapped.

Inui raised an eyebrow; he must have really interrupted something to cause Tezuka to snap so bluntly.

"Ah, I need to talk to Echizen and I thought I should remind you that Ryuzaki-sensei should be here soon" he said with a knowing look.

Tezuka gave him a withering look before calling to the younger boy over his shoulder. Ryoma appeared a moment later wearing no shirt at all and looking a little mussed.

"Sempai?"

"Echizen, I found these in the attic. I was wondering if you minded me reading them, they seem to be journals from a few of your ancestors." Inui said showing the books to the younger boy and ignoring the glares he was getting from the other two.

Fuji had joined Tezuka near the door in his boxers and a look of imminent death towards the data player on his face. Apparently they'd gotten even further than the last time he'd interrupted. It was strange though, that Echizen hadn't responded. He looked down into the high school freshman's face and what he saw disturbed him greatly.

Ryoma had picked up the brown journal and was staring at it with wide eyes, his pupils were narrowed with fear and he was shaking just slightly. His action alerted the other two and they both drew him back into an embrace as Inui removed the book from the younger boy's hands. Ryoma promptly snapped out of his state of terror and took the book back, much to the surprise of the older three, or four considering that Kaidoh was watching discreetly from the hall.

"You can read those two sempai, but I want to read this one myself first." Ryoma finally said holding the book to his chest.

"Ryoma, are you sure that's a good idea?" Fuji asked deeply concerned.

He really didn't like the reactions Ryoma had been having to certain things in this house, but he couldn't order the boy around.

"I have to." The hazel eyed boy responded simply as he turned to go back into the room.

The Captain and the prodigy glared at Inui once again, this time for bringing that book anywhere near Ryoma whether or not he knew how the boy would react to it. The data player chose self preservation over logic and made a hasty retreat with the remaining two journals.

Later that evening after Ryuzaki left Fuji took the container that his sister had sent him upstairs to his room to look through it and set things up where he thought they should go while the others were distracted with cleaning up downstairs. His eyebrows rose as he saw just how seriously his sister had taken his request. There were at least thirty Hada Omamori, nine (one for each of them) Michihiraku Omamori, nine Housaiyoke Omamori, nine Enmusubi, nine Gakutoku Omamori, nine Shiawase, nine Tsubaki suzu, nine Shishi Mayoke suzu, nine Tengu Mayoke suzu, three Sarutahiko necklaces, nine card Omamori, thirty Gofu, and several packages of Kiyomesuna as well as several seals against evil spirits.

He quickly placed each where he wanted them, making sure that at least four of the seals were placed properly on the door they still couldn't open. He'd had to sneak into the others' room to place the Omamori on or in things his teammates wore regularly. By the time he was done he was pleased with the result, the house felt warmer already though he did notice that the door he'd placed the seals on had seemed to crackle with energy.

He settled onto the bed to wait for his two roommates and, to his later disappointment, promptly fell asleep.

_**Authors note: I'm back! My vacation rocked except for the fact that my brother's girlfriend is an annoying clingy idiot and I thrashed my feet by walking around the Metrotown Mall for four hours in two inch heeled boots. Ouch… Oh, and thank you all for your wonderful reviews, they're so encouraging! Heh heh, looks like Tezuka is going into a little sex withdrawal in this chapter… oops. Anyways people, you know the drill, please review and let me know any requests you might have for further chapters. Oh, and by the way, yes I'm going to try and write a lemon within the next three or four chapters.**_


	8. I'll Stay

**_Authors note: This chapter is dedicated to kyuuketsuki kaji. Happy Birthday! Thank you to everyone reading this and to everyone who's replying. Please remember that if you have a request for something to happen in the story let me know! _**

_**Several entries from Echizen Aya's journal are in italics, as is her past that Inui dreams about.**_

As Inui prepared for bed that night he discovered the Omamori that Fuji had placed among his things. He knew it was the prodigy because he'd seen him placing the seals against evil spirits on the locked door earlier. Inui might have one of the most logical 18 year old minds out there but he still believed in an aspect or two of the supernatural. He would have to remember to thank him in the morning; for now though he had something else on his mind.

Inui climbed into bed and reached for the off white diary of Echizen Aya. The moment he opened it he was entranced and felt unwilling to put the old book down until he had finished all of the entries.

The diary spanned the girl's life from the time she was fifteen to the day she died about a month after she turned sixteen. For the most part she seemed to be a normal, nice, helpful, and dutiful girl. Then, about halfway through her journal, things became more interesting.

_I met someone today. He is handsome and strong but he was so soft spoken when he addressed me that I thought I might forget to breathe. I have never felt like this before but it is very much like how my friend Ashiya Sachiko told me it would be. He is the eldest son of my father's coworker, and his name is Ken'ichi. He and his father came to see my father this afternoon and my mother and I served the tea. Our eyes met by accident for a mere instant but it felt like an eternity. He later spoke to me as he was in a conversation with my younger brother in the hall near the tea room._

_I do not like that room, I find the ceremony beautiful but that room has always frightened me and as we stood there I felt as though someone watched me closely._

_Oh the gods have blessed me with a day I barely dared dream of. My younger brother Shuuichi invited Ken'ichi over for me, he seems to have guessed my feelings towards him, and all three of us went for a long walk in the forest surrounding the house. He taught me how to skip a stone across the pond, though I was not very good at it and I do not think my mother and grandmother would approve of the skill, and then he recited his favorite Haiku to me under the sakura trees. At the end of the walk he took my hand and said he wanted to see me again, my brother made him take his hand away from mine but agreed to chaperone another meeting. Shuuichi may be three years younger than me but he is very protective and caring._

_It was strange; the entire time I was with him I felt eyes upon me again though I know it was not my brother._

_I saw Ken'ichi with his friends at the market today when I was out with my mother and grandmother. His friends stared at me openly in a frightening way and whispered rude things as I passed. I felt quite embarrassed. My mother seemed not to notice but when we got home I heard her telling my father that Ken'ichi was friends with delinquents. He came that evening to apologize and take Shuuichi and I for a walk again. I feared that one of my parents would protest but thankfully neither did. My father glared and scowled so much though that I felt as if we were betraying him by going. While we were out Ken'ichi asked for forgiveness again for his friends and then before my brother could protest he took me by the hands. He told me that he could not forgive them for what they had done and that if he had his way he would be the only one to ever enjoy my beauty ever again._

_I think I am falling in love with him._

_Tonight my brother came to speak with me as I wrote this. He says he has seen a strange man and occasionally a boy wandering the hall near my room at night. Shuuichi thinks they are ghosts and says he's seen them disappear into thin air. I find myself wondering if they could be what has been watching me when I am with Ken'ichi._

_It has been three months since I met Ken'ichi and rarely a week goes by that I do not see him, though my brother still chaperones those meetings. I will be sixteen tomorrow, he has promised me a nightingale and a surprise. I do so hope that he will ask my honorable father for permission to marry me._

_Ken'ichi came to visit tonight and I met him in the second floor hallway by the stairs while my brother was in the washroom._

_He kissed me._

_It was wonderful but I felt someone was standing behind me glaring. Did I make a mistake? I love him but should I have not let him kiss me?_

_Sachiko tells me she saw Ken'ichi kiss another girl today. What a cruel joke to play on my birthday. My Ken'ichi would never do something like that. I told her she must have been mistaken and she left after telling me that I was being a fool. My mother has been acting strangely since last night; I wonder if something has happened._

_Ken'ichi came to see me tonight to give me the bird but my parents became angry. My father confronted him about something, I could not hear about what because they were in another room, and Ken'ichi left. Why would they do this? Mother told me she saw me kiss him but that she had not told my father._

_Why did he send him away then?_

_I found out today that Sachiko told her older brother about how she supposedly saw Ken'ichi with another girl and her brother told my father. I will never forgive her for this even if Shuuichi does like Sachiko's younger sister Kana. I will never forgive her or her family for this._

_Mother no longer speaks to me unless she is giving me chores. What is happening to my life? Ken'ichi is the only one that understands me now._

_It's been a month since my father forbade me to see Ken'ichi but I've snuck out to meet with him a few times. I feel horrible disobeying my parents but I love him. This will be my last entry in this diary. I am sneaking out in a few hours to elope with Ken'ichi. I know it might dishonor my family but I must get out of this house. The ghost that is watching me is beginning to frighten me._

Inui finally put the book down and looked at the clock. It was ten to four in the morning and he decided he definitely needed to get some sleep.

The spirit of 16 year old Echizen Aya entered the room of the boy who had her diary with no difficulty. The charms that had been placed around the house were protections against injury and evil but Aya, her uncle Ryoma and her grand-niece Mai were not evil. So long as they meant no harm the Omamori would not work against her and them. Then again they might not work against the red eyed ghost either considering how old and powerful he was.

Aya sat on the edge of the bed and smiled sadly down at the sleeping boy. He'd forgotten to remove his glasses before falling asleep, just like her brother used to. She reached out and took them off for him and placed them on the table nearby.

"I'm sorry for intruding Inui-san, but I wish to show you the rest of my story. I can show you the mistake I almost made and how I died. Even if you will only think it's a dream I hope it helps you protect your Echizen-san and the two that love him." She said as she placed her hands on either side of his face and concentrated on controlling his dream.

_Aya left her room to take a bath after hiding her diary. As she was out of her room her brother entered it, bringing with him a cup of tea and a letter._

_The tea he placed on her bedside table and the letter he left on her bed before he left for his own room. He didn't notice that his sister had left her window slightly open or that a breeze knocked the paper from her bed and it came to a rest under her desk._

_The spirit of a man entered through the open door with a nearly full vial of white powder. He carefully poured some into the cup of bitter dandelion tea and stirred it to make sure it dissolved. The powder was said to be bitter but that would barely be noticed in this tea. He heard her approaching and quickly hid the vial so that he could retrieve it easily at a later time before he disappeared._

_Aya reentered her room still drying her hair. She noticed the tea and wondered for a moment if it was her mother's way of showing that she forgave her before shaking off the thought and reaching for the cup. Dandelion tea was her favorite and it had just started to cool so she downed it in a few gulps._

_About ten minutes later Aya was feeling a little dizzy and nauseous so she decided to make her way back to the washroom to splash her face with water. She was walking by the stairs when the first of the spasms wracked her body and sent her falling down the flight of steps. She broke her neck near the bottom._

_Several days later her spirit found her brothers letter with her uncle Ryoma's help and she read about how her brother had found out that it was Kana, Sachiko's younger sister that had been forcefully kissed by Ken'ichi. Shuuichi had then discovered that Ken'ichi had several 'girlfriends' and was suspected of attempting to rape a girl in the next town._

Aya removed her hands and wiped a tear away from the boy's cheek. He was crying for her.

"Thank you." She whispered, touched, before pulling the covers up further and leaving.

The red eyed spirit wandered the third floor corridor in annoyance. The stupid brat thought he could seal him in his room with those charms but he hadn't counted on two things. One was the ghost's age, because with age came strength; the other being that he wasn't in the room at the time it was sealed. He stared at the charms he came across in the hallway in distaste. If he wanted to he could destroy them but that would leave him powerless for at least a day unless he took the time to gather more strength first. For now he would simply wait for an opportunity to present itself.

As the boy's began waking up and moving around he decided to follow some of them around to see if he could find his chance to hurt, or kill one of the three though his sole target was Echizen now. The boy was being corrupted before his very eyes and while he was not about to let them get away with it he first had to save the boy from himself. He couldn't actually enter any of the bedrooms without wasting energy on destroying the charms so he left that be fore now, but the boy had forgotten several key spots. So when Echizen's precious cat came downstairs demanding attention and food from the protective hissing boy and the humble one that had the ability to create sushi masterpieces he knew his chance had arrived.

Fuji was content in his dreams. Tezuka was stroking him to hardness as Ryoma kissed him senseless before whispering into his ear that he was ready for Fuji to take him. He moaned in his sleep and reluctantly began to wake up only to find that it wasn't completely a dream. He was lying between Tezuka and Ryoma; his lover was awake and looking at him with a seductive smile, while his soon to be lover slept on. Tezuka was stroking his abdomen just barely caressing his half hard cock. Ryoma was on his other side using his chest as a pillow and had one of his legs tangled with Fuji's making the silk of his boxers rub maddeningly against his thigh. Fuji leaned up slightly and kissed Tezuka before reaching down one hand to kneed Ryoma's ass which consequently woke him up.

Ryoma blinked as he felt a hand grope him and ended up looking into a pair of very aroused blue eyes. Deciding it felt just as right as it had the day before, and technically they were already further than they had gotten yesterday since they were all to the same point of undress, Ryoma decided to just go with the flow and leaned over to kiss the older prodigy. As his mouth was occupied he reached a hand around to his team captain and ended up with his fingers stroking his hip just under the edge of Tezuka's boxers. He reached his thumb further to the front and found a spot that made Tezuka's hips jump forward. When he finally came up for air from kissing Fuji he stared at the captain with half lidded lust filled hazel gold eyes. Fuji now had both hands massaging Ryoma's butt as the younger boy carefully raised himself to his knees, know straddling one of the prodigy's legs, and leaned over to kiss Tezuka.

He was in the middle of one of the most passionate kisses he'd ever experienced when all three broke apart at the loud crash and feline scream that followed it.

"KARUPIN!" Ryoma gasped out as he bolted from the bed and out into the hall still clad in only his boxers.

The other two weren't far behind him, though they had to pause for a split second to pull their own boxers back into place.

Ryoma got to the top of the stairs just in time for him to see Karupin come racing up them and leap into his arms. The cat was trembling and meowing pitifully as though she were trying to tell her boy what had happened. Oishi, Eiji, Momo and Inui had also come running out into the hall, this was becoming something of a habit, as Kawamura and Kaidoh were about halfway up the stairs.

"Ryoma, is she hu… WATCH OUT!" Momo cried out.

The regulars watched in horror as a red eyed spirit appeared behind their youngest member, grabbed him, and spun him around to look him in the eyes. Karupin let out a more feral hiss and tried to claw at the attacker even as he shoved the boy backwards down the stairs and disappeared.

Ryoma felt helpless as he began his unwilling decent downwards until a yell and a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around his waist taking care not to crush or dislodge the cat. He opened his eyes and found that it was Kawamura that had saved him from injury and possibly death. The steps jutted out harshly and it would be easy to land in a fatal way.

"Sempai. Thank you." Was all he managed to croak out before the others came rushing down to reassure themselves that he was alright.

After thoroughly checking the younger boy over Fuji looked at Taka, his eyes full of gratitude.

"Taka-san, that's twice you've saved the ones I love. I'm in your eternal debt. Thank you."

"Fujiko-chan, you don't have to… I wouldn't be comfortable… please don't say things like that." Taka replied uncomfortably and then blushed bright red as Tezuka bowed to him.

The nine tennis players gathered in the kitchen, tactfully ignoring the fact that four of them were only wearing boxers and that Oishi was missing his shirt and his jeans were zipped but not buttoned. The subject of the ghost was quickly brought up as they put to Ryoma the question of whether they should leave or not. Kaidoh, Oishi, and Taka were in favor of abandoning the house and inheritance, but Momo, Inui and Eiji were sided more towards staying, not for the money but because it was a challenge and Inui wanted more information. Tezuka and Fuji simply stated that they would support Ryoma in whatever he chose though they silently hoped he would choose to leave. Not that they were willing to back down from the test but to keep Ryoma safe.

"I'm not leaving. I don't care if the opponent is a ghost or a human; I'm not going to let him win. I don't want any of you to feel like you have to stay though, I won't hold anything against you if you wish to go, but there's only three more nights before this is over and I'm staying." Ryoma stated stubbornly as they had all expected he would.

Nodding to one another they all made a silent agreement to stay and keep him and each other safe.

"We're a team, and teams don't abandon their teammates. I'm staying." Oishi said.

"Yeah! We can't let you have all the fun ochibi-chan. Besides who would empty my wallet when I want company for ice cream if I let something happen to you?" Eiji said as he flung his arms around Oishi and Ryoma.

"I'll stay, even if there is a ghost." Kaidoh stated quietly, he'd vowed to himself to protect Ryoma against anything and he would not go back on his word.

"Well I can't let you play ghost buster on your own huh? Besides what kind of friend would I be if I ran off now?" Momo said with an affectionate but friendly look in his eyes.

"Echizen, I'll stay." Kawamura said softly.

"How would I collect data if I leave now?" Inui stated with one eyebrow raised.

"I'll never abandon you Ryoma. You're ours to protect, remember?" Fuji whispered to him.

"It's unanimous then, we stay and protect each other as a team should. Don't let your guard down." Tezuka declared with a nod.

None of them took notice, though Fuji thought he felt something familiar, of the three teenaged ghosts watching them with smiles on their faces.

Inui pulled the car into the driveway of the Yanagi residence. Renji lived here with his brother so that he could continue to attend Rikkaidai high school after his parents had moved again. His ex-doubles partner was waiting for him at the door again looking grim this time. He'd Called Inui earlier that afternoon to let him know that his brother had the results of the powdery substance for him.

"Sadaharu. Come in, my older brother is waiting in the living room." The Rikkaidai student said as he led his old friend down a hall.

"It's not good I take it?" Inui responded picking up on the other boy's mood immediately.

"I'll let him explain."

"Sadaharu, long time no see. How have you been?" Renji's brother asked as he stood to shake his hand.

"Fine; and you?"

"Fine just fine. Please sit. Now I'd like you to tell me where you found that powder please and whether you or your friends have been experiencing anything strange. Shortness of breath, restlessness, apprehension, heightened perception (hearing, vision, etc.), abrupt movements, exaggerated reflexes, muscular stiffness of face and legs, or seemingly mild convulsions?" the private detective, Renji's brother, asked seriously.

"I've noticed none of those symptoms except when there is due cause. Shortness of breath after heavy training, apprehension in stressful situations, and none of the others. As I told Renji, I found the vial of powder in the same room my friend was attacked in directly after the altercation." He replied honestly.

"That's good then. What you brought me Sadaharu is a very deadly poison. This is powdered strychnine. The convulsions I mentioned a moment ago can become quite violent and often lead to death within a half hour of ingestion if it's not treated. Thankfully it seems that none of your friends have been exposed to any of this as it can be ingested, inhaled or injected. I can't give you this back, it needs to either be kept as evidence or properly disposed of. Have there been any more incidents? Would you like me to look further into this?"

"It's not up to me to say, but I don't think Echizen would appreciate it if I said yes. We should be fine. Thank you for all you've done, I left your payment with Renji yesterday. Now I should be getting back." Inui replied before he and his friend headed back towards the door.

"Sadaharu, are you sure you can handle this?" Renji asked in concern.

"It will be fine Renji. Three more nights and we're all out of there, probably for good."

"Something else has happened then. Can you tell me what? Are you sure you don't need help?"

"Ah, Echizen was attacked again, this time in front of us. Tell me Renji, do you believe in ghosts?"

"Scientifically they seem improbable, but… yes I do."

"Maybe I'll tell you about it when it's over then. After all, I don't have all the information yet." Inui replied with a smile as he prepared to drive back to the house.


	9. Shouldn't have died

Kaidoh sighed as he prepared for bed. His roommate Inui thought he had slept through the previous night but truthfully he hadn't fallen asleep until the older boy had put the book he'd been reading away and turned off the lamp. Kaidoh had hoped his sempai would just sleep tonight but that thought was ruined when Inui walked in and picked up the other book he'd found in the attic.

The attic… just the thought of that room made him shiver. He'd thought the room was strange on the tour of the house when Ryoma had attempted to climb up there while still holding Karupin after going into some weird trance. Then, earlier today, he'd gone up to the third floor to get a mop at Kawamura's request and as he'd passed under the closed hatch he could have sworn he heard a girl laughing. After the incident with Ryoma and the red eyed ghost that morning Kaidoh decided that he definitely did not want to find out what it was and had run back downstairs.

A sound of annoyance from the cot across the room shook him from his thoughts.

"Something wrong Inui-sempai?" Kaidoh asked as he sat up.

"Nothing to worry about. I just can't seem to read this for some reason. I can read anything else perfectly, so it can't be my glasses or my eyes, but when I try to read this the words blur beyond legibility." Inui responded.

Kaidoh saw the data player get up and walk towards him still holding the thin book.

"Kaoru, would you do me a favor and see if you can read this?" Inui asked his occasional doubles partner.

Kaoru blinked for a moment at the sudden use of his given name. They had been dancing around each other for months now; each wanting more but neither making the first move, seemingly afraid of how the other would react. He decided to let this new development go without comment, hoping Inui would understand that he was ok with it.

He reached out and took the book as he shifted over so the older boy could sit on the edge of the bed. Kaidoh opened the diary as his sempai made himself comfortable and immediately entered a trance-like state that would not allow him to release the book until he'd finished reading it. Subconsciously he fought it enough to read out loud as Inui had requested.

If Inui found it strange that his kouhai was suddenly as stiff as and reading like a robot he gave not outward sign. Instead he set his mind to gathering and sorting the data he was being told about Echizen Mai. As with Aya's diary things became more interesting after she found a boyfriend.

_**Mai's Diary Entries follow:**_

_It seems that watching after my younger brother has developed some benefits. Katsuro's friend Hattori Saburo came to play and brought his older brother, Sho, with him. Sho is tall and handsome and very outspoken. I'm still deciding whether I like him or simply want to be rid of him. He took one look at me and turned around to ask my father if he could court me. I cannot believe my father said yes._

_Sho took me for a walk on the property and we ended up at the pond. I love that place. I slipped on the grass that was wet from the morning dew, and Sho tried to catch me but he also slipped. To my mortification I landed on top of him. I got off quickly and tried to help him up but he would not stop laughing. Once he was standing I asked him what he found so humorous and his response made me so angry._

"_You may have eyes like a cat, Mai-san, but you certainly lack the grace to land on your feet." He said._

_I must have been blushing bright red by that time and he just kept laughing._

_I pushed him into the pond._

_After I got back I was walking up the stairs when someone grabbed my ankle. I barely escaped hurting myself on the stairs and when I turned around to see who had tripped me there was no one there. When I looked at my leg later there was a bruise that looked almost like someone's hand. I dare not tell anyone. What would they think of me with a bruise there?_

_Sho came to visit again today. He brought me a kitten, apparently with my father's permission. I know it's because of the comment he made yesterday, but she was just so cute, and he did apologize. I named her **Tsuyu** right there and then. After a cup of tea Sho excused himself and asked me to walk him to the door. Once there he kissed the back of my hand and winked at me before he left saying,_

"_Maybe Tsuyu here can teach you the grace to match your beauty."_

_He makes me so angry! Yet there is something about him that is endearing. _

_Tsuyu behaved oddly when I brought her upstairs after Sho left. As we passed the locked bedroom where my ancestor Kiyoshi killed himself, no one has been in that room since then, she arched her body in my arms and began to hiss. She continued to do this until we entered my room. I cannot help but shiver when I pass that room, it always feels like someone is glaring at me._

_It has been three weeks since I met Sho. It has been three weeks since I became extremely clumsy. In the past few weeks I have tripped on the stairs ten times, fallen out of bed fifteen times, nearly slipped into the pond fourteen out of the eighteen times I was there with Sho, and barely managed to avoid injury in some form or another when bathing every night. Every time I do something like this and Tsuyu is around she hisses at something and I get a shiver up my spine. I have been wondering lately if maybe she is possessed but the rest of the time she is sweet and playful. _

_I secretly took her to a temple today and explained to the priests there everything that has been happening. They took a look at her and told me that there was nothing like that wrong with her. They asked me some questions about the house and property then told me it sounded more like a ghost was haunting me. I guess that might explain the bruises that keep appearing. I bought some Omamori but I don't know if they will do any good._

_Today I am taking Katsuro over to play with Saburo. Secretly I hope to see Sho there so that we might go out or talk. I have fallen in love with him. Truthfully I think I always loved him. He finally kissed me yesterday and made me promise that I would consider no one but him for a husband. I agreed._

_I am so angry! I was a fool to think I could love that stupid idiot! When I got there with my brother Saburo invited us in and told me Sho would be back down in a moment. As I waited a girl my age came out of one of the rooms and just looked at me for a moment before getting this strange look in her eyes. She introduced herself as Yanagisawa Emi after I told her my name, then she smiled at me in an almost frightening way._

"_You're the little klutz he's been keeping himself amused with while he waited for me to return with his mother. Sorry kid, you're too late. He's betrothed to me now." She said just before Sho came downstairs. He moved to kiss my cheek but I moved away. I must admit I was trying very hard not to cry. I just barely made it home before I gave in. My father came to see what the problem was and when I explained he looked very angry. _

_Tsuyu is hissing as I write this but I don't care if there is a ghost in my room right now or not! He can read this for all I care!_

_When Sho brought Katsuro home tonight he was confronted by my father. I don't know what was worse, the fact that I want to forgive him if he would just choose me over her, or the fact that he just left without offering an explanation. Tomorrow is my 16th birthday, and for once I don't think I care._

The journal ended abruptly leaving no hint of how the girl had ended up drowning in the pond with Sho the next day.

Kaidoh had come back to himself just as suddenly as he had stopped reading. He was surprised to find Inui massaging away the headache that beset him by rubbing the back of Kaidoh's head and his temples. He relaxed into the touch gratefully and nearly fell asleep right then.

"I'm sorry Kaoru. I should have warned you that it might do that. Echizen Aya's diary had the same effect on me last night and I regret putting you through that as well. Are you alright?" Inui asked as he got up from the bed.

"I'm fine Sadaharu. You know, that old cot can't be good for you. The bed is big and I wouldn't be uncomfortable if you wanted to sleep in it too." The seventeen year old said as he looked anywhere but at the older boy.

"Thank you Kaoru, I think I'll take you up on that." Inui said after contemplating silently for a second.

They made themselves comfortable under the covers and fell asleep close to each other without touching.

Mai sighed as she watched the two tiptoe around what they wanted to say to one another. She dropped the temperature in the room trying to make them move closer together and was rewarded by the elder one wrapping his arms around the other from behind. She had been planning this by not allowing the bespectacled one to read her diary in hopes he would ask this boy, Kaidoh, who reminded her of the man her brother had grown to be. He was passionate, independent, strong, and protective. Her brother had ended up in a love hate relationship with Sho's younger brother Saburo. They had loved each other but hated the memories of Sho and Mai that being together brought to the surface. Saburo never married but Katsuro did, though he only touched her long enough for her to bear him one child. Katsuro and Saburo died on the same day the year before.

Mai reached out and ran a hand gently down Kaidoh's cheek but quickly withdrew it when he shivered.

"Aya-san is right. It is time for our stories to be told. I'll show you both how Sho and I died. Please forgive my intrusion." Mai said placing her hands on their foreheads.

_**Mai's past / Inui and Kaidoh's dream.**_

_Mai entered the living room to find her father sitting across from Sho and his parents. Before she could leave Sho's mother spoke up._

"_Mai-san please forgive me. I am the one who misled Yanagisawa-san by accident. I met her while visiting with my mother and after coming to know her I expressed interest in possibly betrothing her to my son. I did not think to mention that I meant it to be to my eldest son Hiro. When I asked Sho to entertain her while I spoke to my honorable husband and Hiro she took it to mean that Sho was to be her future husband. Please Mai-san Sho did not know what Yanagisawa-san said to you, none of us knew until Saburo told us, this is my mistake."_

"_Daughter Sho's parents are here to speak to me on his behalf. Sho wishes you to be his wife. Is this something you also wish?" her father asked._

_Words seemed to stick in Mai's throat so she simply nodded. At her affirmative Sho stood up and crossed the room to her side._

"_If you will excuse us please, Mai and I have much to talk about, and I thought a walk to the pond might be refreshing." Sho said as he led Mai out of the room._

"_Why don't I prepare some tea that we can take with us?" she asked finally finding her voice._

_The red eyed ghost glared at the two teenagers that walked into the kitchen. He hadn't gotten close enough to hear what had been said in the other room so he could see no reason for this girl to throw herself at the bastard that had betrayed her and failed to stand by her side. The shameless vixen! Always meeting this boy with no chaperone, forgiving him no matter how rude or dishonorable he was. Then again what could he expect from someone who so casually placed her body against a man's when she was not yet married to him. He'd had enough. She needed to be dealt with. They both did._

_That decided he managed to slip a large dose of the powdered strychnine into the pot of tea she was preparing without being noticed. Neither suspected a thing as they gathered up that basket that contained the pot and cups and left._

_The ghost watched as the two young boys followed their siblings and he chose to go along to ensure that the innocent boys did not drink the poison. The red eyed spirit watched in fascination as the older couple drank a cup of tea each before climbing into a boat and launching it out into the middle of the pond. This was perfect. If they didn't fall into the water on their own when they started shaking he could easily capsize the boat and it would appear no more than a fatal accident._

_Luck was with him. Twenty minutes later the girl started convulsing first and as the boy reached out to steady her he began his own violent seizure sending them both over the side and into the water._

_Katsuro watched in horror as his sister's body began moving strangely. He'd been told many times that you must never make sudden movements in a boat or it would toss you into the water. That is exactly what happened a minute later when Sho started to move just as suddenly as Mai's was. Something was wrong though. His sister had been the one to teach him how to swim; so why wasn't she coming back up out of the water?_

"_Mai! Aneki (like Aniki but for a female, elder sister)!?" he tried calling but got no response._

"_Saburo go get help!" Katsuro yelled as he jumped into the pond._

_His only thought was to get to his sister. He had to try and save her._

_Katsuro was exhausted by the time he got to the boat; he'd never swum with so many clothes on before and they were weighing him down. He took a deep breath and dove down. Even as he saw them he knew something was very wrong. Neither his sister nor Sho were moving and their eyes were closed. That scared him. Realizing that he couldn't reach them on the breath he had he turned around and tried to kick to the surface for more air but he barely moved. His clothes were too heavy and no matter how much he struggled he couldn't get back to the top. The next thing he knew he felt hands under his arms and found himself staring into a face he'd only ever seen in a painting in the attic. This person looked like his ancestor Echizen Ryoma but as they neared the surface the apparition disappeared and a strong hand found a grip on his shirt to haul him out the rest of the way. His father pushed him into the boat and after making sure he was breathing alright he dove down with Sho's father to retrieve the other two._

Mai sighed again as she released their dreams. She couldn't help but think that had the red eyed ghost found out about her upcoming marriage she and Sho would not have been killed. She shook her head quickly. The past was the past and she couldn't do anything about it, but maybe she could stop it from happening again.

Early that morning Kaidoh woke with Inui still wrapped around him from behind. Suddenly his morning run didn't seem that important as he gave in and snuggled back into the strong embrace. He'd had a strange dream after reading that diary and something about it made him wonder if it was just a dream. That thought however was driven from his mind the instant a warm mouth started kissing and nuzzling a spot behind his ear. Both his body and his mind melted under the sensual ministrations and he groaned softly in pleasure. The body behind him stilled for a moment before sitting up, apparently Inui had just woken up completely.

"Ah Kaoru, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries."

"You didn't. Now that you're up though, I was wondering if you would drive me to a temple today. I know Fuji-sempai got some Omamori somehow but I was hoping to pick up a few stronger wards and seals than what he's set." Kaidoh replied with a light blush as he got out of bed.

"Yes I had the same idea. Let's get some breakfast and go then."


	10. Overwhelmed

**WARNING: Yaoi Lemon ahead, don't read if you are not of age. once again since i haven't in a while, Prince of Tennis does not belong to me. **

Ryoma woke to a warm body on either side of him again. This was definitely something he could get used to fast. Opening his eyes he found himself facing Tezuka this time with Fuji spooned up behind him. As he lay there he thought about what Kaidoh had said to him about love, "They want to be with you and protect you… If they love you they should be willing to tell you in some way. It might not be in words, but you'll know it when it happens,".

It abruptly occurred to him just how many times these two had said they loved him through their actions. The way they protected him, all those seemingly innocent accidental and random touches, the looks, the kisses and caresses, all of that had been their way of telling him. He knew them well enough to know that they didn't need to say certain things out loud; so why had part of him been searching for reassurance? He had it already. He'd had it since he realized he loved them, before that even. They'd just been waiting for him to understand.

Overwhelmed by this sudden rush of knowledge Ryoma leaned forward and kissed Tezuka awake, submitting dominance only after the older boy became aware enough to demand it. When they broke apart Ryoma's mouth was instantly claimed by Fuji who had woken up just in time for the pleasurable scene. Ryoma lost the battle for control of the kiss again but admitted to himself that for now this wasn't something he minded losing. A moment later Tezuka and Fuji sat up and Ryoma watched as Fuji surrendered his mouth to Tezuka even as he ran his hands sensually down the captain's sides before slipping them into his boxers to firmly grope his ass. Tezuka's hips jutted forward grinding his still cloth clad arousal against his long time lover. Within minutes they were both naked and as one they turned their attention back towards Ryoma. Fuji knelt next to the boy's legs, running his hands up the outside of Ryoma's thighs before bending over and kissing his way up the inside of one of them to his boxers. Tezuka started at Ryoma's lips, kissing and sucking his way down to meet Fuji, pausing only to lave attention on the younger boy's nipples. After the two 18 year olds shared another kiss Fuji took hold of Ryoma's boxers and pulled in a gentle attempt to get them off. The 16 year old was so besieged by pleasure though that he didn't react to the tug on his only article of clothing. Smiling slightly Tezuka set out to remedy that by lowering his head and dipping his tongue into Ryoma's naval causing his hips to jerk upward which allowed Fuji to rid him of his sleepwear.

They paused then looking at Ryoma in all seriousness.

"Ryoma, do you want this? We can stop now if you're not ready." Tezuka said, implying both what they were doing now as well as the relationship in general, as the younger boy sat up.

"I want this. I have for a long time; it just took me a while to realize that you two do too."

"Ryoma I know we haven't said it but…" Fuji was cut off by Ryoma's lips on his own.

"I know. I didn't get it before but I know now." He said looking from one to the other.

Tezuka nodded and while Fuji was embracing Ryoma he rummaged in one of the bedside tables coming out with a bottle of lube. The prodigy moved behind Ryoma and gently guided him to lie down.

"Spread your legs and bend your knees love. This might hurt a little but try to relax and it will pass. I promise we'll make this good." Fuji whispered before assaulting his mouth to distract him from Tezuka who slipped one slick finger into his entrance.

It didn't hurt yet, but it did take him a moment to get used to the intrusion.

After he felt Ryoma relax he began moving the finger in and out, mimicking what was to come. Then with some unheard signal to his lover Tezuka added a second finger while Fuji attacked Ryoma's mouth again and pinched one of his nipples.

This time there was a bit of pain but it still wasn't bad and after a minute or two he was ready when they began to move and stretch him. Ryoma was almost beginning to wonder what the big deal was when those fingers pressed something inside of him. His hips jumped a good foot or two off the mattress and the pain of a third finger entering him was forgotten as pleasure coursed through his body. Had Fuji not had the sense to occupy his mouth with another kiss he most likely would have yelled loud enough to bring the rest of the team running.

"Kunimitsu… Shusuke… what the hell was that?" Ryoma asked with a groan when he could speak again.

It was still a bit painful but it would be well worth it if Tezuka would do that to him again.

"That Ryoma-koi was your prostate. Or as I call it 'the reason I agree to be Tezuka's Uke'." Fuji said with a chuckle.

"Is that the only reason Shusuke?" Tezuka asked in a soft throaty passion filled voice.

"Saa, who knows?" Fuji responded with a teasing smile which was contradicted by the heat in his eyes.

"Ryoma, do you think you're ready for more? I don't want to hurt you if you're not."

Ryoma blinked, if the 'more' Tezuka was talking about was anywhere near as good as what he'd just done then hell yes he was ready for more. Instead of trying to vocalize that thought Ryoma just nodded. He nearly moaned his disappointment out loud when the older boy removed his fingers. It wasn't long though before something large and slick positioned itself where the fingers had just been and slowly pushed in little by little. It hurt, but every time he thought it was too much Tezuka would pause for him to adjust before continuing. By the time the captain had entered him fully Ryoma was breathing hard making an effort to relax and ignore the pain, which was lessening as he began to get used to the invasion, when he felt Fuji shift. Opening his eyes, he didn't know when he'd shut them, he found that the prodigy was now straddling his head as he leaned down to take Ryoma's hard cock into his mouth. As Fuji started to bob his head and suck Tezuka began to slowly thrust in and out of him slowly building up to the rhythm set by the other boy. Ryoma was now panting for a different reason. He groaned as he felt his cock twitch when Fuji hummed with him still in his mouth and Tezuka picked up the pace a little.

Deciding to extract a little revenge, while he could still think, Ryoma clenched his ass around his captain and reached his head up to take the prodigy's cock into his own mouth after swirling his tongue around the tip of it. The two 18 year olds gasped and sped up their ministrations in response.

Tezuka was finally falling into a familiar rhythm, not as hard or as fast as he was now accustomed to when he took Fuji but familiar none the less. He reached out to run his hand through his long time lover's hair as the head moved up and down on his new lover's hard member. Rotating his hips he set his thrusts to search for that spot that would make Ryoma see stars again. Two plunges later he found it and was glad he'd made sure that both he and Fuji were holding the 16 year olds hips down ensuring that Fuji wouldn't choke.

Ryoma suddenly came hard pouring himself out into Fuji's mouth and groaning around the boy's cock. The vibrations set off the prodigy who didn't have time to warn the younger boy or withdraw his member giving Ryoma his first taste of cum causing him to gag a little but he still managed to swallow it. As his butt clenched from the orgasm Tezuka came deep within him just a thrust or two after his lovers.

Fuji had just enough energy left to maneuver his body to collapse the right way up next to Ryoma as Tezuka crawled up to join them.

"Are you alright Ryoma?" Tezuka asked tiredly.

"Yeah… can we do that again sometime?" Ryoma responded, suddenly unsure if he truly had interpreted their intentions correctly.

"Whenever we want, you're ours for as long as you want." The captain responded pulling him close and wrapping himself around him.

"Actually, next time I'd like to take you while Kunimitsu takes me. How does that sound?" Fuji said as he also cuddled the younger boy.

Their only response was the smile on Ryoma's face as he fell asleep suddenly feeling quite safe and loved.

The red eyed ghost was seething with fury. The boy had given himself to those worthless bastards like a common whore. He would die no matter how much energy it took out of him, and he would make it painful. He released some of the energy he'd gathered and destroyed three out of the four seals that blocked him from his room. The fourth was damaged enough to let him through and he still had enough left in him to carry out his new plan. He left his room just as quickly as he'd entered it. The pond had worked before, so why not now? It was such a convenient accident sight after all.

Kaidoh walked back into the house with a large bag containing wards and seals all created by the strongest priests from each temple he and Inui had visited. They'd paid quite a sum of money for all of this but it would be worth it if they worked. He'd cover Tezuka, Fuji, and Ryoma in these charms if it would keep them safe whether they liked it or not. He wasn't about to lose them or anyone else for that matter to this damn ghost if he could help it. Ryoma was like his own little brother, his to protect from the things that were out to hurt him. It was great that the three of them were finally getting together, and he wished them all the best, but he wouldn't be content until he was sure Ryoma was safe. He trusted his captain and Fuji but he had to at least try to keep him safe on his own. He and the 16 year old had planned a walk for that afternoon, anything to get Ryoma away from the house and the thing that wanted to hurt him, he just hoped they would be out of harm's way out there.

Inui followed him in with another package, a new door handle for the locked room. They'd checked with Kobayashi but there was some stipulation in the will saying that no remodeling, even something so small, could be done during the week that Ryoma was fulfilling Kiyoshi's wish. Inui was positive though that the answer to this mystery lay behind that door or in the journal that Ryoma still refused to let Inui get his hands on. Either way they would be out of the house after just two more nights.

Thinking about Ryoma; where was he? Where were all three for that matter? It was 10:00 AM and Tezuka at the very lease was an early riser, but they hadn't been on the courts, and unless they were sleeping they didn't sound like they were on the ground floor.

Kaidoh set out on his search for Kouhai trying to make it look coincidental in case he did run into him. He knew that Ryoma would push them away if they smothered him with too much protection and in this situation that could be disastrous. After going over the first floor room by room, setting up the charms alongside Fuji's as he went, he made his way to the second floor. He'd just gotten to the landing when he saw Fuji coming out of his bedroom clad in only a pair of boxers that almost looked a little small for him making his way towards the bathroom. The smirk on his face could only be translated as 'I just got some after too long without', and Kaidoh just didn't want to know the details. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his sempai make a sound of slight distress and anger.

"Fuji-sempai, what's wrong?" he asked, fearful that the ghost might be doing something to the older boy while invisible.

"It would seem that the seals weren't strong enough to hinder the ghost." Fuji answered while staring intently at the locked door.

Kaidoh's eyes followed the other's gaze and widened when he saw three small piles of ashes and only one very tattered very compromised seal left in place.

"Sempai, is Ryoma safe?" he asked suddenly knowing the other would understand.

"Yes, he's in the bedroom with Tezuka. At least those wards are still in tact."

"I have some more seals here, the strongest we could get, guaranteed not to come off without human interference. I'll put them up right away." Kaidoh said as he moved towards the door and set about applying the ten wards.

Ryoma was looking just a little miffed as he and Kaidoh walked through the forest in the opposite direction their previous runs had taken them. After leaving his room he'd endured walking down the stairs with Tezuka in front of him and Fuji behind him. Neither had left more than a step between themselves and him and after they'd gotten past the '_danger'_ of the stairs nearly the entire team seemed just about glued to his sides. Now when he'd figured he would be able to escape most of it on the walk with just Kaidoh, Fuji and Kaidoh had just about covered his body in protection charms. It had been twenty minutes, and the argument that he couldn't move, before he managed to get them to agree to just what he could keep in his pockets and the Sarutahiko necklace. He'd withdrawn back to one sentence, or one word if he couldn't just grunt, answers and an annoyed look had taken up residence on his face.

Kaidoh knew they had pushed the high school freshman too far but he couldn't help but worry more after he'd seen the state of the locked door. It was amazing that Ryoma hadn't just blown up or locked himself in his own room. They all just wanted to keep him safe, but Kaidoh had to wonder if they weren't pushing it too far. He was beginning to speculate that maybe they were just pushing him away.

As they neared the pond Ryoma gradually began slowing down and falling out of step with Kaidoh. Really what he wanted right now was just a moment of solitary peace. Away from everyone including the brooding 17 year old who thankfully just kept walking. Looking down into the clear water he noticed that the incline under the water was quite steep, you would have to be quite close to the edge to get a foothold to walk out. He'd just turned his face towards the sun when he felt someone grab him roughly from behind and lift him off his feet. As soon as his feet lost contact with the ground he felt a shockwave like effect hit him which left him momentarily weak and confused. He watched in a disconnected kind of horror as the Sarutahiko necklace slipped from his neck, the chain had been snapped. Just as he was coming back to himself enough to struggle he was thrown nearly to the center of the pond and whatever had grabbed him was doing it's best to pull him under.

Deep in thought he didn't notice when they arrived at a grove of Sakura trees or when they arrived at the deep pond in the middle of it. It was the absence of Ryoma at his side and the splash that followed maybe a split second after he realized the boy was gone. Whipping back around he was just in time to see Ryoma's head slip under the water.

**Remember people, this is not a death fic, other than those characters I made up that are already dead, which by the way are free to be used by whoever wants. **


	11. Ghost Story

Streaks of lightning cut across the dark overcast sky creating a frightening backdrop for the figure that had just opened the door to the kitchen as the lights cut out. For a moment Momoshiro and Eiji, the only two already in that room, thought the ghost had returned or that it might be some kind of monster with two heads and an extra set of something growing out of its sides. The two were too petrified to move as one head of the creature hissed, seemingly in annoyance, and made its way into the room. The other head groaned slightly as it separated itself splitting the creature in half, one standing and the other sliding into a chair at the table. The lights came back on just in time for Momo and Eiji to see Ryoma settle into the chair and Kaidoh collapse into another when he was sure the younger boy was alright there.

"What the hell happened!?" Momoshiro yelled when he saw the state his rival and his kouhai were in.

Both boys were drenched, despite the fact that the rain had not started to come down yet, and Ryoma's legs were covered in bruises and scratches. The powerhouse player's shout effectively brought Oishi, the only other person currently in the house, running from the living room across the hall.

"What's going on? Why are you two wet and what happened to your legs Echizen? Eiji go get some towels, blankets, and the first aid kit. Momo go run two hot baths." Oishi said taking charge of the situation immediately as he crouched to examine Ryoma's legs.

Eiji and Momo ran off with their assigned tasks as Kaidoh turned towards the teams fussing mother hen.

"Where are the others?" Kaidoh asked as he stripped off his shirt, revealing a bruise of his own, before helping Oishi get the younger boy out of his revealing more bruises and a few more scratches.

"Securing the courts against the storm, now tell me what happened. I thought you were just going for a walk; why are you wet?" Oishi demanded ignoring the rest of the team as they trooped in.

"Fsssh. We were just walking, but that damned ghost tried to drown him. I went in to pull him out and something nailed me in the chest but it hit an Omamori and the kid went limp. I snagged him and got us back here. I only stopped to make sure he was breathing and he didn't need help with that." Kaidoh said through chattering teeth.

"Ryoma are you alright?" Fuji asked as he hurried to his young lover's side.

Tezuka moved to stand behind the two with a hand on each of their shoulders silently showing his concern and protectiveness. The captain's eyes demanded an explanation without being accusing as his gaze switched from Oishi to Kaidoh.

Inui had moved to stand behind Kaidoh and his own eyes changed Tezuka's whenever the other 18 year old looked at his new boyfriend.

"It was my fault." Ryoma said quietly shocking most of the others into silence for a moment.

"No, it's the ghost's fault." Kaidoh objected.

"Echizen what do you mean by it's your fault." Kawamura asked gently not wanting to believe that Ryoma was implying that he'd tried to kill himself.

"I stopped to look at the pond when Kaidoh-sempai was distracted. The ghost tossed me in and tried to hold me under. I tried to fight him but he was too strong until he hit the charm. Kaidoh-sempai saved me; I don't think I had the strength to get out." Ryoma said softly, he'd already thanked the boy on the way back to the house but he nodded to him again gratefully.

"NYA! Shuichiro I got everything!" Eiji yelled as he raced back into the room.

"Eiji what are the basins for?" Oishi asked as he waited for the two younger boys to strip to their boxers before handing them the towels and blankets.

Kikumaru was already at the sink filling the small tubs with hot water.

"Don't you remember? Those bath tubs upstairs take forever to fill and I thought these would be a good idea until they're ready nya. Remember Oishi? You used one of these to warm me up that time when we were thirteen and I tripped into that puddle by your house!" Eiji said as he managed to spring over to the two shivering boys without spilling a drop.

As Eiji was putting their feet in the tubs Kawamura made his way over with two steaming cups of tea that he'd managed to make while dodging the acrobatic player. Ten minutes later, after the two had explained the incident in full, the expressions in the kitchen varied from extreme concern for the two to extreme fury towards the ghost that was tormenting the team.

"Echizen this man is obviously no going to stop while we are here. I'm worried for your safety, for everyone's safety; we should all just go and forget this place until we can put him to rest." Oishi pleaded.

"The probability of Echizen leaving this house before the agreed upon time on Sunday is 16. The probability of the ghost following Echizen to kill him even if he does leave is 69. The probability of the rest of us staying to protect Echizen because he won't leave is 96. It would be 100 except that in the case of one of us receiving a hospitalizing injury that person's lover would go with them. By the way Kawamura, you never did answer me last night when I asked you why you were blushing while talking on the phone to somebody." Inui said suddenly switching the topic to try and catch the other off guard.

"Ah, well… You see… I have a date with Akutsu Jin next Saturday evening." Taka said as his cheeks turned bright red.

"Ii data… The probability of the in school fainting ratio rising by at least 40 is 92 once people realize that the entire Seishun High School regular's team is gay. The Probability of blood loss due to nose bleeds in ¾'s of the school population is 85. The likelihood of more hate groups forming due to the new pairings is 73. The odds of new fan clubs forming in favor of the couplings are 100. And the probability of the number of random mobbing increasing tenfold is 100. Frightening data." Inui intoned effectively diffusing the tense situation that would have arisen had he remained quiet.

"Err. Right. The baths are ready; I used the two bathrooms by the stairs that go to the third floor." Momoshiro said after he snapped out of the daze all Inui's information had put him in even though he'd only come down the stairs halfway through it.

Tezuka nodded to him as he picked Ryoma up out of the chair, still wrapped in his blanket, and carried him towards the stairs. One look at the captain's eyes silenced any protest the boy would have made. Then again he didn't feel quite as embarrassed when he saw Inui pick Kaidoh up in the same way despite the loud protests the seventeen year old was making.

Later that night, after Ryoma was feeling smothered enough to scream again, the sixteen year old was curled up comfortably on the couch in his room with Karupin lying on his feet. Ryoma adjusted the blanket he was wrapped in and moved the pillows around until he was comfortable before reaching for the journal on the table by him. He sighed as he stared at the leather cover, just holding it made him feel confused and sad though he didn't know why. Karupin lifted her head and meowed at him in comfort and curiosity. It was very strange, he'd come into the room yesterday and found Fuji flipping through the very blank pages of this very book, but as he held it now he instinctively knew that the pages were full of words and memories. Cautiously he opened it and fell deeply into his ancestor's life as he saw it.

**Journal of Echizen Ryoma: year 1858 age 16.**

_**My honorable father has been teaching my younger brother Kenji and I how to run the family business. Our families style of kimono's sell quite well and while I have enjoyed learning the trade I must admit that my brother is more adept at the running of the corporation. When I inherit the company I plan to have my brother with me running it as I work on finding new designs and materials.**_

_**Today my father found Yori and me kissing by the pond on our property. Yori and I have been close in this way for several months but no one besides Kenji knew this until now. Yori has been my friend since we were five years old and before today my father never questioned his frequent visits to our home. When he found us my father told Yori to go home and it surprised me that he complied without saying anything. I did not think he was ashamed of our relationship but maybe I was wrong? After Yori left my father had me walk with him for awhile under the Sakura trees. He was silent until the end of the path.**_

"**_Do not bring shame to our family Ryoma." Was all he said to me before he walked back inside._**

_**I will not dishonor my family, but I will not give Yori up either. We simply will not get caught again.**_

_**It has been nearly a month since Yori and I were found by my father and it seems as though nothing ever happened. My father acts as though he never found Yori and I, if anything he is more determined that I learn his business faster than before. Kenji has been helping Yori and I hide our relationship from everyone else since that incident. I find it a little strange that the only one who knows nothing of us is my mother who is sharp eyed and quick of mind for a woman. **_

_**Today at the office I overheard an odd conversation between my father and a man I have never met. I believe my father called him Yukito, which surprises me because my father rarely calls anyone by their given name. Yukito seemed to be flattering my father for a few minutes. Normally this method of leading up to the point of the meeting would make my father angry that his time was being wasted, but this time my father spoke gently in a seemingly fond tone. Finally the stranger came to the reason of his visit. He wants to buy my father's company! Of course my honorable father said no, our family business is not for sale. Yukito began to speak quite harshly then. He said that my father abandoned him years ago and that he should therefore not deny him his request. Again my father refused him and this time Yukito grew so angry that he threatened my father and said that he would find a way to bring great dishonor on our family. I very much doubt that the man can do anything but my father has seemed worried since.**_

_**I cannot believe that my father hit me today! He was supposed to have been at the office all day today, so Yori and I were in my room when he suddenly came home. He caught us in a rather compromising position I must admit. Yori was lying atop me and we were kissing as we lay on the bed but he was quick to get off of me when my father yelled. My father pulled me from the bed and backhanded me before I could do anything. When I could see straight again Yori was gone and my father was standing over me looking mad enough to kill. For a moment I thought he might.**_

"**_I told you not to dishonor this family. You will never see him again Ryoma. Do you understand? That boy is a coward that abandons you at the merest hint of danger. You will stop this foolishness now. I cannot abide having you in such a relationship, if anyone finds out then our family will never live down the shame you attempt to bring upon us." He said before he left my room. I cannot believe he hit me… I cannot believe Yori just left like that._**

_**I cannot bear my fathers command. Yori and I are meant to remain by each other whether my father can accept it or not. To us there is nothing shameful about the way we act in private. My father no longer speaks to me but he has not thrown me out or claimed that I am not his son so I think I am safe for now. My mother acts no differently than how she has always been; my father must not have told her. My brother still supports my decision but he seems to think that Yori is not the one for me. Kenji seems to think that Yori is a coward because of the way he left yesterday but I cannot help but still love Yori.**_

_**Yori and I have met twice this week with Kenji's help. Strangely though I could almost swear that I caught a glimpse of my father both times I was with him. My father has not mentioned it so I think I must be mistaken but I am almost sure I am not. Kenji and I overheard Yukito attempting to buy our company again. He said he has something that will shame us. My father seems very worried but I do not know why he should be when it is obvious that the man knows nothing that could hurt us. If he did he would have used it already to drive us into poverty so that he could simply take our company. **_

_**When my father, brother and I were walking home from the office today we saw Yori talking with a strange man. I was careful not to look at him and Yori made no attempt to acknowledge me but my father went quite pale when he saw them together. He has been acting quite bizarre since we got home. One minute he will be worried, then angry, and then regretful. My brother has told me that he has seen the stranger at the office once or twice, so I wonder if perhaps that was Yukito. This leads me to wonder which man, Yori or Yukito, made my father react in suck a way.**_

_**My mother and brother are away for a few days visiting my mother's sister and parents. My father finally spoke to me today. He came to my room just a few minutes ago and told me to come downstairs in one hour to join him in a private tea ceremony. Perhaps he has finally forgiven me and is ready to accept my choice.**_

**End Journal**

Ryoma blinked in curiosity as the journal ended. The last entry was dated the day his ancestor had died but the journal seemed to give no hint as to how. (authors note: Ryoma doesn't know what was in the other two journals or how the girls died, or about the strychnine. Inui hasn't told anyone.)

Frustrated, Ryoma tossed the book back onto the table then watched as the back cover fell open with a small clunk as it hit the hard surface. He sat up in confusion; soft leather did not make that sound. Before he could reach for the book again though, Fuji and Tezuka came through the door saying that they should all get some sleep. Ryoma almost ignored them for the book but Karupin suddenly dug her claws into his leg before leaping onto the table and sitting on the journal.

A hand on his shoulder finished breaking the spell and he looked up into the worried eyes of Tezuka. Deciding to reassure his lover, and himself, Ryoma reached up and pulled the older boy's head down for a kiss. Without breaking the kiss Tezuka picked up the small teen and carried him over to the bed where they both received a similar greeting from Fuji.

**Ack! Apparently the cure for my writers block was reading a couple of vampire romances this time around. Sorry for not posting for so long! Comments are appreciated and reviewers are worshipped.**


	12. Want to Scream

**_Authors note: Because both Ryoma's will be talking out loud in the next chapter or two ghost Ryoma's words, and the other ghosts words, will be italicized. I will try to make it clear who's who but it might get confusing later on. As usual thanks go to my friend Nicole for helping and often giving me the kick I need to get going again. Don't kill me because the chapter is so late… I'm tired, and stressed, and I want to quit my job._**

Tezuka woke instantly and silently straining his ears for any unusual sounds or sense of danger that might have startled him from his dreams. There was nothing. If he listened hard enough he knew he could hear Momoshiro snoring and, if they were awake, possibly the sounds of a bed creaking softly from the direction of Kikumaru and Oishi's room. Those were normal sounds that were often heard from his teammates when they were on overnight outings together, but there was nothing that would have startled him awake. Content that all was well for now he silently yawned and stretched, careful not to jar either of his lovers. This of course was useless as Fuji's eyes snapped open the instant he moved and he offered his lover a smile.

Ryoma sensed the movement while still asleep and rolled over effectively pinning the tennis captain to the bed as he unconsciously used him as a body pillow. Fuji's smile widened at Tezuka's discomfort when Ryoma's leg slid down between his own brushing the older boy's morning erection as he squirmed to get comfortable. Tezuka in turn wrapped his arms around the small lithe boy and tried not to squish him as he held him still, trying to will himself some extra restraint. What he would have liked to do was roll over and kiss the younger boy awake before stripping him and recreating what they'd done the day before but he had more self control than that. Fuji smirked at his lovers inner battle and leaned over to kiss his way down Ryoma's back while using one hand to stroke the outside of one of Tezuka's thighs. Tezuka was very close to losing his self control when Ryoma woke and stifled a gasp of pain as the cuts on his legs and his bruises protested his position. Despite the bath the day before, which had been more to warm him up, he was stiff and very sore.

Stopping instantly both of his lovers moved to help lay him back down on the bed.

"Ryoma are you ok?" Fuji asked as he examined him.

"I'll be fine, sorry to ruin the mood. I'm just a little stiff." Ryoma answered not fooling either of them.

The sixteen year old soon found himself bundled into another bath, not overly hot but it was enough to loosen him up a little.

"You should rest here for now while we go check any damage the storm may have made, unless you would rather sit downstairs with one of us or the others." Tezuka said as he carried Ryoma back into the bedroom.

He still wouldn't let the boy walk too much though it almost seemed more to reassure himself than to help the sixteen year old.

"Here is fine Kunimitsu." Ryoma said in embarrassment.

"We'll be back up soon Ryoma, and we'll bring some breakfast. I'd rather you were up here anyway, without your Sarutahiko necklace it's more dangerous in the less warded parts of the house." Fuji said protectively.

"Since you're set on staying until the end it would be safest if we all stayed in the bedrooms as much as possible until it's time to leave tomorrow. We'll order lunch and dinner in today and pack for tomorrow." Tezuka said firmly.

Ryoma, hearing the finality in his captain's voice, just nodded and settled himself on the couch while his lovers left the room to gather the others to check for storm damage and to make breakfast.

After a while Ryoma's mind turned back to the sound his ancestor's journal had made the night before. He stared at the strange leather book for a few minutes before reaching out for it. Looking closely at the inside of the back cover he discovered a very fine line that was raised near the spine. It looked like another piece of leather had been added after the book was made. Making a decision quickly Ryoma managed to get a nail under the edge and peeled the added piece back. He caught a flash of a small metal object as it fell from the opened area onto his lap. Ryoma put the book down before looking to see what had fallen. On the blanket that covered him from the waist down was an old key. Wondering what it belonged to Ryoma picked it up and instantly lost all knowledge of what he was doing.

The red eyed ghost smiled grimly as he watched the boy exit his warded bedroom and walk stiffly into the hallway towards the locked room. He didn't care when the boy bumped a painting off the wall or that the noise of it shattering on the floor alerted the other boys in the house that something was wrong, all he cared about was that he now had his descendant in his possession and that the boy would die before he had a chance to either shame the family or get his heart broken. He laughed out loud, startling the cat that had come out of one of the rooms, as the sixteen year old put the key into the lock and turned it. Automatically the seals and wards on the door burst into flame and disintegrated into ash as the door swung open. Not giving the hypnotized boy a chance to walk into the room on his own he shoved him in and slammed the door shut behind them just as the rest of the meddlesome teenaged boys topped the stairs. He laughed again as several of them slammed into the locked and sealed door.

Fuji Shusuke wanted to scream. For once in his life he felt helpless to protect someone that he loved and he hated it. Of course that didn't mean that he would stop trying. The whole situation just made him that much more angry. This meant that once he got into that room, and he definitely would one way or another, he would find a way to destroy the ghost once and for all.

For the second time in his life Tezuka Kunimitsu was scared, really and truly scared. Something he didn't know how to deal with had taken one of his lovers and for once he didn't know how to handle the situation. He knew he had to get Ryoma back. He knew that whatever was in that room with him would try to kill him, and he knew that he couldn't forgive himself if he let that happen. But he didn't know how to defeat what had Ryoma. All he knew for sure was that he wasn't about to quit until he had him back. Looking around him he saw the determined expressions of his teammates and the cold fury in his lover's face that he was sure mirrored his own.

BANG! rattle, rattle, rattle.

"Grr."

BANG! rattle, rattle, rattle.

"Grrrrr."

"Momoshiro, dislocating your shoulder while trying to open the door is not going to help Ryoma." Kawamura said as he stopped the boy from ramming the door.

"Damn it! We should have kept him with us! We have to do something! We can't just stand here." Momo nearly sobbed.

"We will get him back Momoshiro, but not by acting recklessly. We need to stay on guard." Tezuka said quietly.

"_I was hoping you would say that. You need to be very sure of what he means to you to save him._" A new voice said as the splitting image of Ryoma, in an old-fashioned blue kimono, shimmered into appearance followed closely by two teenaged girls also in outdated clothing.

"NO! Ochibi you can't be dead!" Eiji cried as he was kept from running towards the spirits by Oishi who had pulled him close.

"_Please calm yourselves._" One of the girls said.

"That is not Ryoma." Tezuka said confidently.

"At least, he's not our Ryoma." Fuji added having his own suspicions.

"How can you tell? He looks and sounds the same." Oishi said still holding his sobbing lover.

"He doesn't talk the same. Or stand the same or act the same." Kaidoh and Momo said in unison, for once in complete agreement.

"It's an Ochibi imposter? Nya! Why do you look like our Ryoma!?"

"_Please. My name is Echizen Ryoma, but I am not the Ryoma you know. I was born over 150 years ago. These two are Echizen Aya and Echizen Mai, my descendants. We've been trying to keep you all safe from the one that has your Ryoma. We are here to help._"

"How can you help? Why are you all here?" Kawamura asked.

"_We were all killed by the one that has your Ryoma. We don't want him to kill again. We helped Ryoma once already, now we are here to help you save him._" Mai said forcefully.

"_We don't want another to needlessly die._" Aya added.

"Who's the ghost that took Echizen? If my assumptions are correct, all three of you were killed by the same man, but I've only read two out of the three journals." Inui said from his position beside Kaidoh.

"_My father, Echizen Kiyoshi, killed me when he still lived, and has killed these two since as a ghost. He now has your Ryoma. All of which I am deeply sorry for. Now you must hurry. The key he used to unlock the room was my mothers. After she decided to keep the room locked I hid her copy in my journal, but my father has his key hidden elsewhere. We have to find it. It's the only way to get into the room and save your Ryoma._"

"Where is it hidden?" Oishi asked.

"_The Tea Room. It's the only room we haven't searched and he wouldn't have hidden it outside of the house. It must be there._" Aya said noticing how her uncle Ryoma looked grave.

"_Uncle Ryoma you don't have to do this. We can find the key, you don't have to go in there._" Mai said looking concerned.

"_I'm fine. Let's go._"

**(And I'd probably be killed if I left it around here so I'll keep going. Sorry it's been taking me so long to update.)**

Smash!

"Mumble… mumble… mumble."

Crash!

"Mumble… mumble… mumble."

Clunk!

"Momoshiro! Stop throwing the damn teapots!" Kaidoh burst out as he caught the flying finery.

"She started it Mamushi." The powerhouse grumbled pointing and Mai.

"_Well at least mine was an accident. And I have more right to break this stuff than you do, you big oaf!_" the ghost shot back with a glare.

"Do we even know if it will be on a teapot?" Kawamura piped in as he helped Aya look in another section.

"_I'm nearly certain that's where he would hide it. If I could just remember which one he prepared the tea in that night."_ The spectral Ryoma said.

"Just what happened that night?" Inui interrupted.

"_I thought my father had finally accepted the relationship between Yori and myself, but I was wrong. I never gave it a second thought when the liquid was a touch cloudy when my father poured it into the chawan so I followed the ceremony steps. My father did not speak after the ceremony and about ten minutes later I began to feel quite ill. My father soothed me as I began to convulse but did nothing to stop my death. After my body stilled and my spirit had left my body my father moved me to my room and left me for my brother to discover. I realized he'd done something to kill me, and after he killed Aya I discovered that he was using a type of poison. After he killed Mai and Sho we went looking for the poison but he kept it hidden in his room where we could not enter so long as he was there. I believe_ _you disposed of the rest of the poison correct? You did find it after we stopped my father from poisoning your Ryoma._" The ghost said addressing Inui at the end.

"Ah, it was destroyed very carefully after I found out what it was. Strychnine is a rather dangerous substance." Inui replied as the rest of the team just stared at him.

"You didn't think it important to tell the rest of us what you found?" Tezuka asked sternly with a look that promised repercussion at a later date.

"Ah, it slipped my mind. Besides it was dealt with."

"Echizen-san, do you remember which set your father used for the ceremony?" Fuji interrupted before Tezuka could argue, after all Inui would be dealt with _after_ they saved Ryoma.

"_Ah, I remember because it was his most cherished set and was decorated with his favorite design for the kimonos._"

"Do you see it here? Or have we checked it already?" Fuji said with a patience he did not feel.

The ghost looked around the room and shook his head.

"_No, I do not see it here._"

"_Wait. Uncle Ryoma did you not once tell me of a secret storage place in this room for grandfathers prized sets?_" Aya spoke up suddenly.

"_Yes I remember. You said it was along the wall near the floor across from the window._" Mai said as she quickly glided over to the correct wall.

"_I was never told how to open it though._" Ryoma said sadly.

"So we'll tare the wall down!" Momo and Eiji cried in unison.

Before they could take a run at the wall, though, Oishi and Kaidoh grabbed them by the backs of their shirts.

"Nobody needs to tear anything down baka." Kaidoh said with a hiss.

"Eiji, don't be hasty, you'll hurt yourself. What if tearing the wall down damages the house enough that it collapses and kills Ryoma who will still be trapped in that room?!" Oishi said going further into mother hen mode.

Click… Scrape.

During the commotion no one had noticed Inui studying the bottom section of the wall. He'd found a little knot in the wood which he'd found large enough to stick his finger into and when he had he pressed something inside. A panel of wood pushed out allowing him to slide it to the side.

"Inui what did you just do?" Tezuka asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There is a puzzle box in here. I must admit that this is a design I have not studied before, but it is approximately the correct size to hold a tea set." Inui said instead of answering the Captain.

"Saa, is anyone good at these boxes? My family has one but I still haven't figured out all 119 moves to open it." Fuji said with a look that promised it would be opened soon now that he had a reason to be interested in it.

"Ano… My uncle makes them… when I was little he would let me play with them when he visited. This one is an older model that requires ten moves. I could open it, I think, if you like." Kawamura said softly with a look of embarrassment.

Fuji had the box in the boy's hands before anyone could even think of a response. True to his word Taka had the box open ten moves later and the gathered teens huddled close to look inside it. There lay a tea set and a small folded cloth swatch which Tezuka snatched up and quickly undid.


	13. Where Am I

**Same as last chapter, ghosts speak in italics and live characters in normal text.**

**Well here goes another chapter. Thanks everyone for the reviews and don't kill me for taking so long with the updates. The story will end in the next chapter or two and I will begin to work either on the OT5 story I have started in my notebook or the next TezFujiRyo I have also started in my book. I can't decide so any insight would be welcome. As usual I don't own any characters save Mai, Aya, Kiyoshi, and Nami which are free to be used. The story is mine but the general idea is free as well.**

"Where the hell am I?" Ryoma asked out loud as he came back to his senses.

"_You are in my room. Did you really think you would be allowed to shame our family and go unpunished?_" A man, wearing an old fashioned brown kimono, with red eyes said as he appeared in front of the teen.

"You're Kiyoshi, aren't you. What's going on? Why have you been trying to kill me?" Ryoma demanded showing more courage than he actually felt.

He was wishing very hard at that point for the team or anyone really, he'd even settle for his father right about now, to burst in and save him. The ghost was between him and the door and Ryoma was ready to bet every racket he owned that the door was locked and that the ghost wasn't about to let him get to it anyways. Eying the specter warily, with no small amount of fear accompanying his caution, Ryoma attempted to move slowly towards the door.

"_Show your ancestor some respect boy! As if it wasn't bad enough when my son found that coward to carry on with in the middle of a business crisis, the next generation had to fawn all over a rapist! And that last girl, a spineless piece of fluff that insisted on taking back that bastard when he was engaged to another woman! She was becoming a whore! What would this family have become if I hadn't stopped them? Now you boy, you're worse than the lot of them! It would have been bad enough had you been discovered with one boy, but TWO! That's going too far, not only that, boy, but you went and allowed them to use and taint your body like a common WHORE! What kind of an Echizen are you?! Do you really think I'll just let you go after all that?_" the ghost hissed in a soft and deadly voice.

Ryoma knew then. He knew that he most likely wouldn't make it out of this room alive. Not that it would stop him from trying. No, like the true stubborn Echizen he was, he wouldn't give up no matter what the odds were that he would win.

That in mind Ryoma made a dash for the door only to be stopped barely three steps into his flight as the ghost grabbed and threw him against the opposite wall.

"_Pathetic excuse of a man! You don't deserve to live. I won't allow you to bring shame to the Echizen name!"_ the ghost bellowed, crimson eyes glowing with rage, as he directed the boy's body into another wall.

"Shame?! I'm not the one that killed a family member and then took the cowardly way out by committing suicide baka! If anyone brought shame to this family it's you!" Ryoma shot back at the ghost as he tried to pick himself up off the floor.

BANG!

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**(Authors note.) I'm starting this part off with the last paragraph from the last chapter since the time in the different views is supposed to be happening at the same time, just different sections of the house.**

**Fuji had the box in the boy's hands before anyone could even think of a response. True to his word Taka had the box open ten moves later and the gathered teens huddled close to look inside it. There lay a tea set and a small folded cloth swatch which Tezuka snatched up and quickly undid.**

"_Uncle Ryoma, I recognize that tea set. It's the same one that Sho and I used at the pond the last time. I recognize it because I remember never having seen it before that day._" Mai said suddenly as she stared into the box.

"_That is the cup I drank from the night I died. I remember thinking how beautiful the design was and that it must have been new to the house because I had never seen it before._" Aya exclaimed as well.

A small old key fell to the ground as the cloth was unfolded. It hit the floor with a soft clunk that sounded deafeningly loud to the silent teens. For a moment nobody moved until both Tezuka and Fuji went for the key at the same time. Fuji snatched it up a split second before his lover and the two raced for the stairs followed shortly by the rest of the team and the three ghosts.

"Shuichiro, do you think Ochibi will be alright when we get there?" Kikumaru gasped out as they thundered up the stairs trying not to trip.

"Eiji, I'm sure he'll be fine. We just have to get him out of there. Everyone be careful!" Oishi said as they topped the stairs.

"BURNING! NOBODY HURTS MY TEAM AND LIVES! I'M COMING FOR YOU GHOST!" Kawamura burst out startling Eiji and Inui who were on either side of him; this would have been a normal outburst had he been holding a racket or something else, but his hands were empty proving just how seriously he valued his friends.

"_Pathetic excuse of a man! You don't deserve to live. I won't allow you to bring shame to the Echizen name!_" an unknown voice shouted through the door just as Fuji went to put the key in the lock.

"Shame?! I'm not the one that killed a family member and then took the cowardly way out by committing suicide baka! If anyone brought shame to this family it's you!" Ryoma's muffled voice answered back sounding strained.

That was all the team heard of the argument before they slammed the door open and rushed in.

"Ryoma!" Tezuka and Fuji cried out in unison as they raced to his side only to have the 16 year old snatched from them.

"Let him go!" Momo and Kaidoh demanded as they ran after Ryoma in a vain attempt to catch him before he hit the wall.

"Echizen!" Oishi yelled also trying to go after his young friend.

The result, however, was not what he expected as four ghosts turned to look at him and the living freshman groaned. The momentary pause allowed Tezuka and Fuji to reach their young lover. Tezuka pulled Ryoma into his arms as Fuji, placing his body between his lovers and the red eyed ghost, checked him over to see how badly he was hurt.

"_NO_!" Kiyoshi bellowed.

Ryoma's battered body was wrenched from the two 18 year olds and levitated up near the ceiling.

"_You have no right to touch him! I know your kind. You'll just bring him pain when you betray him. You two will get what's coming to you for corrupting my descendant. Why don't you go ahead and leave while you still can; it's not like he actually matters to you… OH NO YOU DON'T!_" the ghost shouted the last as he moved the floating teen just in time to keep him from two of the other boys.

Momo and Eiji collided in midair, both having jumped at the same time to try and grab Ryoma, and fell to the floor. Eiji landed on top of his kouhai and both let out a soft groan as they attempted to stay conscious.

"Eiji!" Oishi bolted to his lover in concern.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE! WE WOULD NEVER ABANDON OUR FRIEND!" Kawamura shouted as he rushed towards the crimson eyed ghost.

Kiyoshi simply stood there and watched as the boy ran through him and into the bespectacled brainiac who had been on his other side mumbling and attempting to collect information about him. Both boys hit the wall with a thunk and ended sprawled on the floor dazed and nearly out cold.

"Sadaharu!" Kaidoh yelled in distress, rushing to his new lover, torn between helping him and helping Ryoma.

"Let Ryoma go!" Tezuka growled out.

"We won't leave him. We love Ryoma and we won't let you hurt him. I don't know who you've dealt with before but Ryoma is ours and we will protect him against anything." Fuji said as he glared at the ghost.

"_What do you know of love? You claim to love him, claim that you will protect him, but I know better. You are no better than those that have hurt my family before, no better than the rapist scum that Aya was deceived by, or the fickle boy that coerced Mai into taking him back when he was already engaged to another woman. How can you claim you love him when you only started courting him after you found out about his inheritance?_"

"Shusuke and I have been an open couple for quite some time; we have been trying to gage Ryoma's reaction towards us for several months and whether or not he would be open to joining us. We won't leave him, whether he stays with us or not is up to him but we will always love and protect him." Tezuka said bluntly as he attempted to reach the 16 year old.

"_Father why are you doing this? These boys actually love him, why won't you let them be happy?_" the ghostly boy asked as he approached the red eyed spirit for the first time.

"_This is none of your concern Ryoma._" Kiyoshi hissed at his son.

"_No father, it is my concern, I won't let you needlessly kill again. These boys have passed through every situation you have placed them in. no matter the danger they did not desert him. All of them protect him. They won't leave him in danger to save themselves._" The ghost insisted as Aya and Mai got hold of the living 16 year old and gently lowered him into his lovers' arms.

"_No Ryoma, they will abandon him as Yori abandoned you. They seek to shame us and use the boy. I will not let this happen._" Kiyoshi said becoming more and more enraged.

The ghost unleashed his power, hurling Fuji and Tezuka into opposite walls and leaving Ryoma to fall to the floor as the two were forced to let go. A moment later they were back on their feet walking unsteadily towards Ryoma again.

"We're not leaving without him." Fuji whispered in a deadly voice as he reached the ill-treated Ryoma who was barely awake.

"No matter what you do to us, we won't leave him." Tezuka said as he fell to his knees beside his lovers and gathered them both into his arms.

"_Father this type of relationship is more accepted now. I won't pretend that everyone is fine with it but it is not shameful. They truly love one another. Can you really be so blind as to not see that? Why do you think that they will betray him?_"

"_I told you to stay out of this Ryoma. You don't understand._"

"_You're right, I don't understand! I don't understand why you killed me. I don't understand why you killed Aya and Mai. I don't understand why you won't let this Ryoma and the others go. Explain these things to me father, please, because I really don't understand._" The teenaged ghost said as he stood before his father with his arms crossed.

Father and son stared at each other, neither giving an inch. Other than wanting answers the ghost was attempting to give the others time to figure something out. They couldn't get the living Ryoma out since Kiyoshi never took his eyes off him completely, but there had to be a way to stop him.

Meanwhile…………………………………………………………………………………...

Aya and Mai had just finished dragging Momoshiro, who was still only semiconscious, over to where Kawamura and Inui lay while Oishi had carried Eiji. Kawamura and Eiji were unconscious but were beginning to show signs that they would be waking soon. Inui had regained his senses but he still wasn't in much shape to move having bruised several areas of his body and possibly having a concussion. Kaidoh had him propped against him as he helplessly watched what was happening to his friends.

"Fssshh. There has to be a way to help them. We can't just let them face this on their own." Kaidoh said softly.

"Aya-san, Mai-san, how is it ghosts can stay behind? Is there anything that holds you all here besides unfinished business?" Inui said in a strained voice.

"_Ah, well…_" Aya started reluctantly.

"_The three of us, Aya, Ryoma, and I, are anchored by our journals. If they were to be destroyed we would have to pass on, though Uncle Ryoma might be able to stay a short while as he died well before we did and therefore is stronger. It would depend on whether he still had a strong enough reason to be here. If there was even a little doubt he would pass on._" Mai broke in determinedly.

"_Mai! No one alive is supposed to know that._" Aya hissed angrily.

"_Aya, they have to know. Even if they choose to destroy us our stories have been told and it's beyond time for us to go if we can keep their Ryoma-san alive._" Mai answered back.

"_Even so, we don't know what grandfather is affixed to. It could have been destroyed a long time ago and he just has the strength to stay. He's stronger than uncle because his will to stay is more intense._" Aya said quickly.

"Is there anything in the house that he was particularly attached to? Maybe what he used to kill himself with?" Kaidoh asked.

"_No, father had the blade destroyed. His Kimonos haven't been in the house for ages, the ones that were left are preserved in some museum, and there is very little else here still that was his._" Aya responded.

"What about the tea set?" Oishi asked quietly.

"_The tea set?_" Mai asked in confusion.

"Of course! The tea set he used to poison the three of you. You both said you recognized it, and your Ryoma said it was the one his father used for the ceremony." Inui explained.

"_It's still back in tea room downstairs. We can't leave now that we're in here. Grandfather has trapped our energy and we cannot stop him. It has to be one of you._" Aya said.

"I'll go. Sadaharu you're too weak right now and I'm faster than you Oishi-sempai." Kaidoh said keeping his voice soft but determined.

"Be careful Kaidoh."


	14. Goodbye

**I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I do own the plot/words written in the story which means no plagiarizing. Many, _many_, thanks to Nicole who helped me immensely on this fic, and many thanks to all my reviewers and people actually following this fic.**

**Also the stuff in bold that is italicized is past speech from other chapters. Regular italics that are not bold are ghost speech and normal stuff is living human speech.**

**Ok, there will be a prologue to this, which might hold the second lemon I got a request for but if it does the lemon will be written by my friend Nicole as I long ago came to the conclusion that I just can't write a sex scene to save my life. I can't believe I'm damn near finished. This chapter took me way to long to write and actually wasn't planned out ahead of time. To think this whole bloody fic was written around two scenes that were in way earlier chapter… the scene where Ryoma nearly got hit by the car (though that was originally written slightly different) and the scene where the ghost pulls Ryoma out of bed. Who knew it would turn into this… but I'm ranting so I'll shut up now.**

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Ryoma's vision came back into focus just in time to see Kaidoh slip out the door. He couldn't help but wonder why the boy, his close friend, would leave him to the mercy of this monster. Were the others just waiting for their chances to leave without the ghost noticing them? Not that he could really blame them, after all he didn't want them to get hurt. It hurt him though, to think that they might actually leave him.

The way he was laying he could see Inui, Momoshiro, Kawamura, and Kikumaru lying on the floor with Oishi crouched over Eiji in the corner whispering something. There were also two females that Ryoma didn't recognize bent over the three other prone figures. Looking closer Ryoma realized the two girls were ghosts as well and that Inui, who was clutching his head, was speaking with one of them.

Tezuka and Fuji were clutching him to them telling him that they would not leave as two ghosts, his tormentor Kiyoshi and another that strangely looked like him from behind, were facing each other in silence. The smaller ghost in the blue kimono turned slightly and Ryoma saw that the spirit was identical to him which triggered a memory that he had thought was no more than a strange dream. The hideous face in the mirror, realizing it was his own covered bruises and scars, turning around to find a ghostly look-alike staring back at him; and that strange, _strange_, conversation.

"**_Tezuka-san and Fuji-san, do they want you sincerely? Would they protect you with their lives and stay by your side through anything?"_**

"_**They will protect me, but I don't know if they are serious in the way they want me."**_

"_**I'll repair the damage he did to you tonight Echizen, but I won't always be able to protect you. You need to figure things out. I'm sorry, but you won't remember any of what has happened here tonight."**_

He knew the real answer to that now. Tezuka and Fuji truly did love him and they would protect him. Just as the others would, there had to be some reason that Kaidoh left. Ryoma suddenly understood just what he was seeing before him. Echizen Kiyoshi and Echizen Ryoma father and son facing off in a battle of wills alone, the result of which couldn't possibly be predicted; but what could have made Kiyoshi do this in the first place? Ryoma thought hard as he held his lovers' arms close to him, letting them know that he was awake and aware that they were with him. The journal, what had the journal been hinting at? Dammit if only he'd read the other two as well, but he didn't have time now.

Ryoma searched his brain for some clue as to why this man was so enraged. It seemed to have something to do with his descendants' choices in men but as far as he could see there was nothing the same about them. What had he said earlier?

"_**As if it wasn't bad enough when my son found that coward to carry on with in the middle of a business crisis, the next generation had to fawn all over a rapist! And that last girl, a spineless piece of fluff that insisted on taking back that bastard when he was engaged to another woman!"**_

It seemed to have something to do with betrayal or cowardice in some form or another. Neither of which Tezuka and Fuji had shown; so why come after them? Why was this man so against his son's choice in lover? It hadn't been a public thing but it was done in their time as well as now. As for the other two he spoke of he'd mentioned a type of betrayal.

"**_What do you know of love? You claim to love him, claim that you will protect him, but I know better. You are no better than those that have hurt my family before."_**

Ryoma had been just awake enough to listen to everything that had been going on after his friends had barged in. That sentence had bothered him. It almost seemed as though something had been left unsaid.

"_**No Ryoma, they will abandon him as Yori abandoned you. They seek to shame us and use the boy. I will not let this happen."**_

Ryoma knew better than to believe that. Tezuka and Fuji had their own money and were not the type to date someone for that. As for bringing shame to the family there was no shame in love. Still there was something in the way the ghost had been saying these things that made Ryoma wonder. Something in his ancestor's journal that had been mentioned several times and something the ghost had mentioned himself not so long ago.

"Yukito." Ryoma suddenly said loudly.

"_What?! How do you know that name?_" Kiyoshi seemed startled at the name.

"It was Yukito wasn't it? Did you abandon him? Or was it the other way around? You were in love ne?" Ryoma said almost positive he was right.

"_What could you possibly know of that?"_ The ghost said as his eyes burned red.

"_Father? Is it true? I overheard you speaking with him at the office a few times. Were you and he together once?" _the spirit Ryoma asked in confusion.

"Your son mentioned it in his journal. Yukito accused you of abandoning him. Did you? Is that why you think Kunimitsu and Shusuke will abandon me?" the living Ryoma persisted.

_"That's none of your concern. Even if it was, what evidence do I have that would prove me wrong? After all that I've seen? Yori abandoning my son and selling him out to our company's rival. Ken'ichi abandoned Aya the minute he was confronted and in public as well then trying to lure her away. I found him on the edge of the property after I saved her; he and his friends were going to take what was left of her purity and kill her. Then there was Sho. He abandoned Mai after leading her on for quite a bit. Giving her gifts and shamefully taking her out with no chaperone. Did he chase after her when she discovered his fiancé? No! The bastard waited until the next day to trick her into taking him back despite his upcoming marriage. Tell me how I can be wrong when I say that you will be abandoned? This path will bring you nothing but disgrace and pain. Even your supposed friend has abandoned you. What makes you think that the ones that are left here will not?_" Kiyoshi said harshly.

"Kaidoh-sempai would not abandon me. You didn't answer me. Did you abandon Yukito? Or did he abandon you?" Ryoma insisted, stubbornly attempting to get to his feet.

"_Father please. I need to understand._" The spirit Ryoma said stepping closer to the ghostly man in front of him.

"_Yes I was in love with him… that was before I knew of my own arranged marriage. Yukito didn't understand that I had a duty to my family when I told him about it. He told me I was making a mistake that I would regret no matter that I promised him that I would not touch my wife past the point of ensuring she gave me two sons. He left the day I told him and I had not seen him again until the day he came to my office and insisted I sell him my company. I did not want to abandon him, but I did not fight for him. So in that way I did abandon him. Just as they others abandoned my descendants._" Kiyoshi explained wearily.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Even years later when Kaidoh looked back on this day he would never understand just how he got down the stairs and into this room so fast without injuring himself. All he knew was that he'd started sprinting the second the door had closed behind him trying to get to the tea set they had so foolishly left behind. He should have just let the powerhouse smash the room and everything in it to pieces. Snatching up the box containing the blue and white tea set Kaidoh turned and raced back up the stairs. Just before he'd left Inui had told him to bring the tea set back up to them so that the ghost could see it smash. They weren't sure if it just needed to be destroyed or if the ghost needed to see it destroyed. Again he managed the stairs without a thought but when he got to the room and tried to open the door… it was locked.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Unbeknownst to the teenagers and the ghosts Karupin had watched the entire procedure from the doorway to the first room she and her boy had occupied. She had seen her boy unlock and open the door that felt dangerous; she had also seen him drop the key in the hallway before he was pushed into the room. So she had retrieved the piece of metal as she always had when her boy left them on the floor for her to play with. When the other boys had come and tried to open the door she had just about brought it out to them when the two girls had shown up. She knew her boy was in danger in danger in their but she hadn't been able to get in. Every time she approached the door, if it was open, it would slam shut in her face.

As Karupin weighed her options of what to do, there really weren't that many, her other favorite boy came running back up the stairs with something in his hands. Whatever it was it had the same feeling that the dangerous ghost gave off and she definitely didn't like it. The boy was struggling with the door now letting out many hisses and words that generally got her own boy yelled at back home if one of the older females heard him. Understanding dawned on her suddenly and she quickly picked up the key and ran out to him. After all if she was with him when he opened the door she could get in to her Ryoma.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kaidoh growled, hissed and swore as he continued to try the doorknob. Just as he was about to give up and attempt to slam the door open as Momoshiro had tried earlier Ryoma's cat attached herself to his leg. Looking down at her he noticed something glinting in her mouth.

"Karupin what do you have there? It could hurt you if you swallow it." He said despite himself.

He was more worried about the others in the room right now, but he couldn't help but worry over the cat as well. He bent to take whatever it was from her and was slightly surprised when she placed a key in his hand.

"This can't be… is it the key to the door?" Kaidoh asked the cat and received an affirmative sounding purr in response.

Deciding to trust his instincts, and Karupin, he picked the box back up and placed the key in the lock. With some disbelief he turned it expecting it to barely move only to find that it turned easily and the door swung open. Kaidoh and Karupin both ran into the room, the feline heading for her owner and Kaidoh heading for Inui.

"Kaoru, if you can get over to Echizen, Tezuka, and Fuji before you smash it I think that would be better. If you meet any resistance then just break it." Inui said as he placed a hand on the 17 year olds arm.

The younger boy just nodded and on complete adrenaline induced impulse he leaned over and kissed the data player full on the lips before turning and running towards the three lone figures. Inui meanwhile put a hand up to his lips in wonder.

"Note to self, situations creating extreme amounts of adrenaline could possibly induce mind blowing sexual experiences between Kaoru and me." He mumbled.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"You didn't abandon him. Yes he used you and that situation to make you feel guilty, but that is not your fault. Not everyone is like that. Kunimitsu and Shusuke are fighting for me, doesn't that show you anything?" Ryoma countered as Kaidoh slipped back into the room carrying something.

Had he gone for the first aid box or something? That seemed more like something Oishi would do, but what mattered to Ryoma was that his friend was back. Ryoma was distracted slightly when Karupin came racing up to him and jumped in his lap meowing her distress at the situation. Now if only he could get rid of this ghost they could get out of this bloody house. It had been several hours he was sure. He'd been unconscious for some time and it had taken quite a while for his teammates to burst in.

"_Father you can't possibly believe that you abandoned Yukito-san. He betrayed the memories you two made when he asked for our business. Not everyone is like that though. Yori did not sell me out, I checked on him several times after I died. Yukito-san approached him for information but Yori refused to tell him anything. Yori thought he was making things easier for my and you by leaving when you confronted us, he did not believe in physically fighting. He did not abandon me, he kept trying to insist that we speak to you about our relationship but he knew as I did that you would not listen when you were angry._" The spirit Ryoma said as he approached his father's ghost attempting to make him understand.

"_Sho did not abandon me either. That was not his fiancé that I met. She misunderstood that she was to be engaged to Sho's older brother, but she had only met Sho and thought he was the one she was betrothed to. He asked me to marry him the day we died._" Mai added tearfully as she looked up from where she was.

"Not all men will seek to hurt or leave the one they love. I love Kunimitsu, and I love Ryoma. I would never hurt them and I would never leave them. If they ever choose to marry a woman or find someone they think is a better match for them, Kami-sama forbid, then that is their choice and I must accept that. I won't allow you to hurt them anymore." Fuji added holding his two lovers.

"I feel the same. I love both Shusuke and Ryoma. I will protect them with everything I have and I do not care if I get hurt in the process of protecting them. I will not hinder them in their choices for the future, even if that means I am not always a part of their lives." Tezuka added as he pulled the two even closer.

"They won't abandon me or hurt me and I won't leave or hurt them. I love Shusuke and Kunimitsu. They are my choice and you can't take that from me." Ryoma said as he clung to them.

The rest of the team, now awake and lucid, moved to stand in front of the three.

"We won't abandon our friends." They managed to say in unison.

The silence that followed those declarations hung in the air like a dense fog as everyone waited with baited breath for the ghost to react. Kaidoh stood several steps in front of the three boys and was hoping that what he had in his hands wouldn't be noticed when the ghost turned towards him frightening him even more.

"_You have my anchor don't you?_" the now hazel eyed ghost asked.

Kaidoh, while still scared, sensed a change in the spirit. He still did not answer him but he also made no attempt to hide what he held. The ghost nodded sadly and turned back to the two Ryoma's, Tezuka, and Fuji. The two girls had also joined the 16 year old boy spirit where he stood, so it was three living boys and three teenaged ghosts that the adult faced with a regretful look on his face.

"_I'm sorry. I thought I was protecting all of you, even to the point of removing you from where you could be hurt further by those men, but I was wrong. Ryoma, Aya, Mai… I am sorry for the pain I have caused you. Ryoma, my son, I doubt very much that you could ever forgive me so I will not ask it of you._" The ghost said addressing the other ghosts at the end.

"_Father…_"

He next turned to the living Ryoma.

"_I believe you two will take care of my descendant. Forgive me for the wrongs I have dealt you. For the injuries and fear I have given you. I was wrong in believing I could protect my family in this way. I truly loved Yukito and it hurt me very much that he would seek to destroy me as he did. I realize now that it was his way of revenge, and that he won the day I took my dear son's life, and again when I killed myself. He won every time I took the life of one of my descendants. I will never forgive myself for any of that and I am truly sorry. Boy, please give me the tea set to break so that I may be se free from this place. I will face my punishment._" Kiyoshi said as he slowly drifted closer to Kaidoh.

The mournful ghost took the set from his hands and before anyone could say a word he smashed it, box and all, on the ground. Echizen Kiyoshi bowed to the teenagers, both living and dead, as he slowly disappeared.

The three teenaged spirits looked around the room at the living boys. The two girls had tears in their eyes and the remaining male spirit looked close to it as well. They looked at each other before coming to a silent agreement and facing the living boys all of whom were huddled together as if unsure of what had just happened or what to do next.

"_We can heal most of your injuries. Not all, but we can at least remove the worst and speed the healing of the lighter ones._" The spirit Ryoma said as he bowed his head.

"_We're sorry you had to go through this._" Aya added.

"_We have just one request. We plan to pass on, but we would like it if you could possibly keep our journals Ryoma-san. We won't ever bring you or your family pain, but if you have our anchors we might be able to return to protect you if we're needed. It's up to you._" Mai said with a hopeful look in her eyes.

The three ghosts joined their powers together and warmth spread through all nine of the tennis players, healing fractures in the case of Ryoma, Tezuka, and Fuji, and concussions in all but Oishi and Kaidoh who had not been hurt to begin with. The three that had been thrown around the room still had bruises and a few shallow cuts that had closed over but there was only minor pain left to them.

The three teenaged ghosts bowed to the living boys as they began to disappear.

"_Inui-san please don't forget my story. Thank you for the tears you shed for me._" Aya called out as she faded from sight.

"_Kaidoh-san, Inui-san, be happy together as my brother and Saburo could not be. You two are meant to be together. Thank you for listening to my past._" Mai whispered as she gently kissed both on the cheek before also fading away.

"_Ryoma, be safe. Take care of each other and don't doubt them._" The last spirit said to his look-alike descendant before giving one final bow and a gentle stroke to Karupin who purred her own goodbye.


End file.
